Tangled Web
by CathGilLove
Summary: Someone comes back into Catherine's life that she never thought she'd see again. And Gil meets someone new.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Tangled Web

Author: ANNE (the insane one)

Rating: R  
Category: G/C

Summary: Someone comes back into Catherine's life that she never thought she'd see again. And Gil meets someone new.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Kathryn Hope.

For Lauri, Melissa and Emily

~Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive~

The strawberry blonde could have been a miniature version of Catherine Willows, Judy thought, as the girl strode up to the counter.

"Can I help you?"  


"I was wondering if you could tell me where to find Catherine Willows?"  


"She's out on the field. I can take a message."

The girl seemed to wrestle with her conscience for a moment. "Uh, is there somewhere I can wait?"

Judy nodded and pointed to a seat in the corner. The girl went and sat down, her blue eyes looking around the lab before finally taking out a book, on forensic crime, Judy noted.

"What kind of weirdo can breastfeed at will? She wasn't even pregnant!" Sara said, wandering in, with Warrick by her side.

The blue eyes looked up. Judy smiled wryly. This was going to be interesting.

"Actually it's a scientific fact that if the need is great enough, and the empathy is strong enough, and the woman is at the peak of her fertility, anyone could do it."

Sara's head whipped around and stared at the girl. "Excuse me?"

The girl shrugged. "It's in most medical textbooks." 

Judy was pleased to note that Sara's steely glare didn't stop the girl.

"All you have to do is find out the peak fertility period for the woman and talk to a shrink about empathy. Quite easy."

"And you are?" Sara asked.

The girl shrugged. "Your fairy godmother?"

Warrick and Judy suppressed chuckles.

Sara glared at her again.

"Look, lady, save your daggers for the crim. I'm just trying to give you a helping hand."

"Well, thanks anyway, but I think we'll be able to handle it," Sara spat.

The girl put her hands up. "Fine. Sheesh, don't get your panties in a bunch."

Warrick raised an eyebrow. Where had he heard that phrase before?

************************************************************************

"No!"

"Come on Cath."  


"No, I did it the last time," Catherine said, as she and Grissom entered the labs. "If you have to tell Sara she can't go on field work because she's maxed out on overtime, you can tell her."

"I'd break it gently," the girl said, her eyes not rising from her book. "I think I kind of pissed her off." 

"Pardon?" Gil asked, adjusting his glasses.

The girl closed her book. "I think she has PMS or something. I mean, can't anyone in this town take a little constructive criticism?"

Catherine turned around and the minute she saw, she knew. 

"Uh, Catherine, this girl was waiting to see you," Judy said.

"Um, Gil, how about you go deal with Sara," Catherine said, patting his shoulder.

Gil looked between her and the girl, and nodded, disappearing down the hallway. 

Catherine's eyes travelled up and down the girl. "Would you like to get something to eat?"

She nodded. "Does anyone around here do a good turkey club?"

************************************************************************

"Kathryn Hope," Catherine smiled. "Beautiful name. How did they pick it?"

"They said the Kathryn was named after you, and the Hope was because they had hope for my future. Most people just call me Katie." Katie looked at her for a while. "You look just like the picture."  
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "You have a picture of me?"

Katie dug around in her wallet and pulled out a ratty piece of paper. "I found it on the net. It's of you and my dad."  


Catherine unfolded the page and smiled. It was a picture of her and Gil, taken when they had solved a high profile case. She looked up at her daughter. "You knew that Gil was your father but you didn't say anything?"

Katie shrugged and accepted the piece of paper that Catherine handed back. "I figured you hadn't told him about me. It's your business, not mine. I just wanted to see you and him. Jill said I looked like you."

"Jill?"

"My adoptive mother."  


"You didn't call her mom?"

"She wasn't my mom," Katie replied. 

Catherine felt her heart break. "I wanted you. You have no idea how much I wanted you."

Katie looked up. "I know. I found your letter." She looked around. "You did good for yourself. CSI, daughter of Sam Braun, kicked the coke, daughter of your own."

Catherine narrowed her eyes. "How did you find all this stuff out?"

Katie smiled. "I have a talent with computers. I hack…stuff."

"Really?"

Katie grinned. "You're acting like a mom already."

"Do your adoptive parents know you're here?"

"Well they might. I'm not really sure. They're dead now, so unless they're watching…"

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. You didn't kill 'em." She pulled out an envelope and pushed it across the table to Catherine. "That's why I'm here now, anyway."

Catherine opened the envelope and smiled. "Accepted to UNLV. A criminalist huh?"

"It's like solving puzzles," Katie replied. "Sometimes there's a piece missing. You guys restore piece of mind, and when you're a victim, that's everything."

Catherine sat back in the chair and stared at the girl. "It's like looking into a mirror."

************************************************************************

Catherine stood at the door of Gil's office, bracing herself. She had left Kathryn in the breakroom, feeling she needed to talk to Gil before she presented their daughter to him.

"Gil?" she said, shutting the door behind her quietly.

Grissom smiled at her. "Sara barely batted an eyelid. Something about reading up on medical textbooks."

"Uh, whatever," Catherine said. She sat on the sofa. "Um, we need to talk."  


"What about?" Gil asked, shuffling through his papers. 

"Perhaps you should…perhaps you should um, put those down for the moment."  


Gil put them down and looked at her strangely. "What?"

Catherine rubbed her face with her hands. She was having one heck of a night. "Um, you remember, eighteen years ago, when Eddie and I were…well, whatever we were, it wasn't good. And you came and got me and took me to your place and we…we slept together."

Gil took his glasses off. "Yes. I remember."  


She sighed. "God, I never expected to have to do this." She looked at him. "I was pregnant Gil. That's why I left four months after and spent five months away. I was pregnant and I never told you."

Gil was silent for a moment. "You…you had an abortion? A miscarriage?"

"We had a baby girl, Gil. I…listed her father as unknown and put her up for adoption. Both our lives were hellholes at the time and I couldn't do that to her. She has lived with a great family for eighteen years. I met them, they were great. The reason you need to know is because that girl that was out there tonight…she's your daughter." Catherine could feel her eyes welling up. "And she's amazing. She…she's like the perfect blend of you and I and…"

"You lied to me," Gil said quietly.

Catherine had never seen him so quiet, and it scared her to death. "I was scared, Gil. For all I knew she was going to be born addicted to coke and it would be my fault. I couldn't tell you. Neither of us could have looked after her…"

"You never gave me the chance, Catherine!" Gil said, his hand slamming on the desk. 

Catherine jumped. "Please…"

"Don't," he said firmly. 

She watched his hands clench into fists and she sighed. "Gil, she's sitting out there and…"

"I think you should go, Catherine."  


Her eyes widened. "Don't you want to even see her? She's perfect, she's…"

"You can have the rest of the night off. Just go, Catherine."  


Catherine felt her heart break. Not just for the tattered remains of their closeness, but for her daughter. "Fine." She stood up and glared at him. "And yeah, be mad at me. Hate me if you want, but do not take it out on your daughter."

************************************************************************  
  
Part 2  



	2. 2

Part 2  


  
^*^*^ indicates flashbacks  


  
"I'm sorry," Katie said, as Catherine steered the Tahoe through the night.

"Don't apologise," came Catherine's swift response. "This is between me and Gil. It's not your fault." She sighed. "I should have told Gil sooner. I just…I never expected to see you again." Her eyes glanced at her daughter. "But I'm so glad I have." She pulled into the driveway. "I hope you like explosions."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"I have no idea how Lindsey is going to take this."

Katie took a deep breath. "This is gonna be interesting."  
************************************************************************

"SHE'S WHAT?" Lindsey cried. "YOU LIED TO ME!!"

"Nice explosion," Katie murmured.

Catherine glanced at her. "Not helping." She turned to Lindsey. "Sweetie, it happened a long time ago. I didn't think I'd ever see her again. And I didn't know if it was something you were ready to hear yet."

"I hate you!" Lindsey turned to Katie. "You can't take my mom! You can't have her!"  


Kathryn slid to the floor and gripped Lindsey about the shoulders. "Snap out of it! Yeah, it sucks that I'm here, but I'm not here to take your place! Your mom loves you more than anything and you're lucky! Do you know how many kids out there would kill to be in your position!? So if you're going to hate someone, hate me. Your mom was just looking out for you. Get it!"

Lindsey stared at her for a moment. Catherine held her breath.

"I'm not here to be your sister if you don't want one." Katie smiled. "But you seem pretty cool, and I could always use another friend."

Lindsey narrowed her eyes. "Is this one of those weird psycho techniques?"  


"Nope," Katie assured her. She put up her hand. "Scout's honour."

Lindsey groaned. "The other hand."  
************************************************************************

Gil Grissom sat at his desk, staring blankly at the wall. He had never forgotten that one night he spent with Catherine. She had called him at one o'clock in the morning, and begged him to come and get her. He had been there in an instant.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"We should get you to a hospital."

"No hospitals," Catherine groaned. "Just, please, take me to your place."  


Gil got her there as quickly as he could. When he took her jacket off, he gasped at the bruises. "Catherine…"

"Can I have a bath?"

He smiled. "Of course you can." Walking into his bathroom he started the hot water running. He found the bubbles he kept especially for nights like these and poured some into the tub. 

Catherine walked into the room and slipped her jacket off, wincing slightly. "Gil?"

He was there in an instant, gently helping her out of her jeans and t-shirt, bra and panties. He helped her into the bath, and watched as she sank into the warmth. His heart broke at the bruises that littered her body. She moaned with satisfaction as he took the washcloth and gently rubbed it across her back.

"That feels really good."

He never judged her, never begged her to leave Eddie. But he always wondered and some of the time, wished he could be Eddie. Just to hold her, make her happy.

"Gil?"

Her voice jolted him from his reverie. "Mhm?"

"Can I get out now? It's getting a bit cold."  


He nodded and grabbed a fluffy towel. He helped her out, wrapping the towel gently around her and carefully rubbing her down. Finally he helped her into some old sweats and one of his shirts, and took her into his bedroom. Turning down the covers, he helped her slide between the sheets. He sat on the bed beside her and smiled.

"I don't deserve you," she murmured, a tear sliding down her cheek. 

He wiped a tear away with the pad of his thumb and cupped her cheek with his hand. "Don't say that, Cath. You deserve the best."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

He remembered her begging him to take the pain away, telling him that she wanted to feel pleasure, not pain. He remembered doing his damndest to remain the gentleman, and not wanting to take advantage of her. Then his mind flashed forward and he remembered the feeling of her skin against his, of how it felt to be inside of her, to have her legs wrapped high around his hips, and to hear her tell him how good he made her feel. He remembered how it felt to hear her cry out in pleasure and watch her fall over that edge as he followed her over.

That night had been etched in his memory forever. And now, now to learn that he and Catherine had made a baby together…

While he was elated that there was a human being out there that was the perfect blend of himself and Catherine…he hated the fact he didn't watch her grow up. He didn't help Catherine through the pregnancy. He didn't watch her bump get bigger, and he couldn't feel the baby kicking. He wasn't at the birth; he didn't get up in the middle of the night. He hadn't smelt that new baby smell, or changed a diaper. He didn't see her first step, hear her first word, take her to school, and screen her boyfriends.

And as much as he wanted to, he couldn't hate Catherine. He hated not having done all those things, and not knowing about his daughter, but he couldn't hate Catherine. He loved her too much.

************************************************************************

Catherine balanced on a chair and pulled the shoebox from the top of her wardrobe. She blew the dust away, and sat on the bed. She lifted the lid and tenderly took out the pile of things inside. 

The baby photo stared at her. Just born, a perfect seven pounds. Ten fingers, ten toes. A little button nose, and beautiful blue eyes. A small amount of strawberry blonde fuzz covered the head, and the little rosebud lips were opened in a yawn. 

She looked at the next photo, which the nurse had taken. Catherine groaned as she looked at herself, exhausted, but her face lit up at the little bundle in her arms. She remembered the way her daughter had felt, remembered the newborn baby smell, and the softness of her skin.

Finally she fingered the little pink bonnet, the only thing of Kathryn's that she had kept. The only thing of Kathryn's that she had ever been given.

Catherine sighed and put the things back in the box. The only thing missing from that box was a photo of the proud new father. And the way things were going at the moment, there wasn't ever likely to be one. 

She put the box back on the shelf and walked down the hallway to the guest room. She opened the door a crack and slipped inside. Catherine sat in the chair in the corner and watched Kathryn sleep. She couldn't get over the similarities between herself, Gil and this amazing human being. Her eyes traced the contours of her face, from the hair that had blossomed into shoulder length, and those ten toes, which weren't quite so little anymore. She wondered if she had done the right thing, giving her up and her heart ached for the moments missed. 

************************************************************************

Catherine walked into work the next night, her head held high. She was going to have lunch with her daughter and she refused to let Grissom's behaviour get her down. Lindsey was spending the night at a friend's. 

"Nick, Sara, db at the Strip. Warrick, car through pylons and Catherine, b and e at Drenda's crafts. I will be catching up on paperwork."

Catherine looked at the slip of paper he gave her. "You're kidding me."  


"What do you mean?"  


"A b and e? It's been a while since you've been pissed off enough to give one of those to me." She folded her arms. "Could this be to do with the news that came out last night?"

"Catherine…" Gil looked pointedly at the rest of the team.

"No, I think they should know. The girl that was here last night is our daughter. Ours and Gil's." She walked up to him. "I understand you're pissed at me, but I didn't think you'd bring it to work." With that, she stalked out of the room, leaving the younger CSI's standing there, mouths wide.

"Grissom…" Sara began.

"Come on Sara, let's go," Nick said, taking her arm and tugging her out of the room.

Warrick stared at Grissom for a moment. "Griss…"

"Go to your scene, Warrick," Grissom bit out, leaving the room.

************************************************************************  
  
Part 3  



	3. 3

Part 3  


Katie strode into the Las Vegas crime lab hallway, looking with interest as she made her way through.

"Hey there sexy lady."

Katie turned around on her heel and stared at Greg. "I'm going to forget that you called me that."

"I'm Greg Sanders. And you are?"

"Kathryn."

"Why am I getting a sense of déjà vu?"

"Well that depends. You may know my mother."

Greg suddenly realised where the déjà vu was coming from. "Please tell me that your mother isn't Catherine Willows."

Katie narrowed her eyes. "Oookay. My mother isn't Catherine Willows."  


Greg let out a small squeak and disappeared back into the lab. Shaking her head in amusement, Katie turned back around and continued walking down the hallway. She noticed a crossword puzzle sitting on the table and checking her watch, she detoured in and filled out a couple of words. Anything to delay the inevitable.

"Geez, you really must be Grissom's kid."

Katie turned around in surprise. "Uh, sorry I just…"

"Warrick Brown. I work with Catherine and Griss."

"Kathryn. Um…I was actually just about to go and see him."

Warrick grinned. "Well, you look just like your mother, so I don't think you'll have any problem getting his attention." Warrick pointed out the office. "Good luck."

Katie walked over to the door and knocked on it. A terse "come in," made her raise an eyebrow.

She opened the door and was slightly taken aback by the spider in the tank. She wrinkled her nose and instead focussed on the man sitting behind the desk.

"What is it?" he asked, his nose stuck in the book.

"Nice to meet you too."

The book was hurriedly put down and Gil looked up at her. He stood up and walked around the desk, staring at her. "You're…"

Kathryn looked at him. "What?"

Gil smiled. "You look like your mother." 

Kathryn smiled shyly. "Everyone's been telling me that." She looked at him. "I just wanted to meet you."  


Gil nodded. "I'm sorry for not coming to see you. I was just very confused. I still am."

"Yeah well, it's not everyday you find out you have an eighteen year old daughter."

"That's certainly true." He noticed she was still standing and quickly cleared the files and papers off the chair. "Please, sit down."

Katie smiled and sat down, as Gil marvelled over how much she looked like her mother.

Desperate for something to fill the silence, Gil went to his fridge and pulled out a jar. "Would you like one?" He picked a grasshopper up. "Chocolate covered grasshoppers."

Katie looked at the bug then back up at him. "You have an unhealthy obsession with bugs, don't you?"

"Yep, definitely your mother," Gil nodded. "She doesn't like spiders."

"I can't say they're my favourite animal."  


"Technically they're not an animal they're an arachnid."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Okay." She fidgeted slightly. "So, I wanted to come see you because well…you're my dad but also because I kind of wanted to apologise."

Gil looked confused. "What for?"

"Because I seem to have ruined whatever you and my mom had going on before I showed up."  


"We're just friends," Gil assured her. "And it's not your fault." 

"I'm glad I got to meet you though. Explains a lot."

He arched an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Well, apparently we're both really good at evading questions." She grinned at him, noticing his worried look. "You two have real issues."

"Thankyou," Gil replied.

"No problem. Oh, and I meant to apologise for annoying that hyper woman."

"Hyper woman?"

Katie changed her voice and mimicked Sara. "What kind of weirdo can breastfeed at will?" Her voice returned to normal. "You need to train your team more."  


Something seemed to dawn on Gil and he took his daughter's arm. "Do you mind? I'd like to introduce you to the team."  


"Uh sure," Katie replied, following him out. 

Gil entered the first room he could find, pleased when he found that Nick and Sara were there. "Nick, Sara, I want you to meet my daughter. Kathryn, this is Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle."  
Nick stood up and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Getting over her momentary shock, Sara stood up also. "Uh, hi."

Warrick chose that moment to come in and was also introduced to Kathryn. He smiled at her, and also in part at Grissom's pride that was seeping through.

************************************************************************

Catherine walked into the labs and Judy smiled at her.

"Congratulations."

Catherine raised an eyebrow. She was in a foul mood. "What did I win?"

"The minute your daughter walked into Gil's office, he has been introducing her to the entire building all night."  


"She's here?"

Judy nodded. "I think Gil was looking for Ecklie." She chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day when Gil Grissom was actually looking for Ecklie."

"Where are they now?"

"Last I saw, they were in the breakroom."

Catherine thanked her and headed down the hallway. She leaned against the doorframe and watched father and daughter together. He had poured Katie a drink and they were chatting like old friends. She felt a tug at her heart and entered the room.

"Hey."

Katie looked up and smiled. "You did say I could come visit. You didn't say who."

Gil stood up and he and Catherine stared at each other for a moment. Katie looked between them and staying silent, took another sip of her drink.

"We need to talk later," Catherine murmured quietly.

Gil nodded. "I know."

Breaking her gaze away from Gil, Catherine turned to her daughter. "Want some lunch?"  


"Sure," Katie replied. She turned to Gil. "Can I…see you later?"

Gil smiled. "I'd like that."

To his surprise, Katie pressed herself against him in a hug. After a moment of shock, his arms encircled her and he hugged her tight.

"I'm really glad I got to meet you," Katie told him.

"Me too," Gil said truthfully.

************************************************************************

"Am I the only person in the world that thinks you two really need to sort through some burning issues?"

Catherine smiled. "Grissom and I have a lot of history."  


"No kidding," Katie replied, rolling her eyes. "It's weird, but I always figured you two would be together."

Catherine glanced at her. "Why is that?"  


Katie shrugged. "Isn't it something that all kids want?"  


"I guess so." Catherine took a sip of her tea. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Katie replied.

"Did they look after you? Really?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah. They looked after me."

Catherine sensed a but, and almost questioned it, but thought better of it.

"Can I ask you a question now?"

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Sure."

"I…well…I don't know what to call you." She smiled awkwardly. "I mean, I haven't really called you anything since I've been here, and it feels kind of weird."  


Catherine smiled. "You can call me whatever you want. Just leave out any of the derogatory stuff and the "old cheese" and whatever you come up with shouldn't be a problem."  


There was silence for a moment, while Catherine watched her daughter stare at her food.

"What about mom?" came the reply.

The silence descended again, as Catherine took in the suggestion.

"Sounds good to me," Catherine finally said.

Katie looked up and they shared a smile.

************************************************************************  
  
Part 4  



	4. 4

"You've never been to Sweet Creatures?" Lindsey asked, her mouth wide. "That's just…that's just weird!"

Catherine watched in amusement as Lindsey dragged Katie all over the store, pointing things out and helping her choose everything.

She wondered if her life would be different, if she hadn't given up Katie. Would she and Gil have gotten married? Would they have had more children? Or would she have stayed with Eddie, Katie a poignant reminder of that one night with Gil?

She watched the two girls together, thick as thieves as they dressed up a bear each. Lindsey was intent on teaching her new "sister" how to do everything right. Katie was patient with her, pretending to be learning how to do it all.

Katie caught her watching her and looked up. She smiled briefly at Catherine before Lindsey clamoured for her attention again.

Catherine wanted those years back. Not that she would erase Lindsey, or what she had learnt. But perhaps if Katie had been in her life, things would have been different. Perhaps she and Gil would have gotten together, and made a life together. 

Then again, perhaps Gil would have hated her. Perhaps their friendship would have been ruined.

Catherine's mind flashed back to the previous evening, watching Gil and Katie chat together in the breakroom. No, Gil would have made an amazing father. 

Perhaps he still would.

************************************************************************

Catherine opened the door to her home and her eyes widened when she saw Gil standing there.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he replied. From behind his back he produced some boxes of Chinese food. "I was wondering if you'd mind…perhaps we could…all have dinner together."

She smiled softly at him and opened the door a little wider. "I'm sure the girls would like that."

He came inside and she put his jacket on the peg by the door. "Where are they?"  


"In Lindsey's room I think."

"They're getting on okay?"  


Catherine nodded. "Lindsey likes having a sister. She just needed to get used to it I think."  


Gil followed her into the kitchen and put the food on the table. "We did good, Catherine."

"Someone else did good," Catherine replied quietly, as she went to go and get the girls.

"Hi Uncle Gil," Lindsey smiled. "Ooh Chinese food!"

"Hi," Katie smiled. "Mom, do you need anything else?"

Gil's eyes widened. He wondered when Katie had started calling Catherine mom. 

Catherine directed Katie to the cutlery drawer and she caught Gil's surprised look.

"Are you okay?"  


Gil swallowed and nodded. "Sure."  


When they sat down to eat dinner, Catherine marvelled at how family like they seemed. Mom, Dad and the two kids. She had never had this experience with Eddie, because frankly, Eddie had rarely been home to have dinner with them. But she definitely liked this experience.

Gil found himself in a world composed totally of Dad, Mom and two kids. It was almost the American dream - dad brings home dinner, and everyone sits down together to talk about his or her day. Something inside him changed, or perhaps it had already been changed and he just hadn't noticed it. But he knew he liked this situation, and he wanted it to continue.

"I'm going to camp this weekend, Uncle Gil. For a whole week! I'm going to try and find some cool bugs to bring him."  


Gil smiled. "That sounds great, Lindsey."  


"If bugs come home, they stay in the basement, not in the house," Catherine warned her, with a shudder.

"Amen to that," Katie agreed.

"You're not a bug fan?" Gil asked, looking a little disappointed.

"I don't mind them. Just not into the ones that crawl on you or stuff like that," Katie replied. "I like butterflies."  


"You should call Uncle Gil, dad," Lindsey said, through a mouthful of sweet and sour pork. "I mean, he is your dad, right?"  


"That's right," Gil nodded. "And she can call me dad if she wants."  


Catherine's eyes connected with his and she smiled. 

"Great, so now we can all be a family and do family stuff, like eating Chinese food," Lindsey said, grabbing another box.

************************************************************************

"And she's been accepted to UNLV," Grissom smiled proudly, pouring himself some coffee.

"Really, what's she going to do?" Warrick asked.

"She wants to be a CSI."  


Sara slumped back in her chair, downing her soda in one gulp. Gil had been talking about his daughter since the start of shift, and it was starting to annoy her.

"Can we please get started on a case?" she asked.

"I thought you'd be pleased that for once no one is dead in Las Vegas," Nick teased.

Sara glared at him and folded her arms in a huff.

************************************************************************

"This so totally sucks," Lindsey said, as she, Catherine and Katie joined the hordes of screaming schoolkids and their families. "The minute something interesting happens, I have to go to school camp."  


"Hey, camps are fun," Katie told her. "I used to go on camps every summer."  


A brunette ran over and grinned.  


"Hey Lindsey!"

"Hey Emily!" Lindsey smiled proudly. "This is my older sister, Kathryn. She's eighteen."  


"Cool!"

"The eighteen is important," Catherine whispered to Katie.

The girls began to talk about camp, and Lindsey narrated to her friend about how "totally cool" it was to have an eighteen year old sister. 

After tearful goodbyes and promising "not to have fun while she's away", Katie and Catherine waved Lindsey goodbye and headed back to the car.

"You know," Katie said, buckling her seatbelt, "it'd be nice to have dinner with you and my dad, just the three of us."  


Catherine smiled. "Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?"  
************************************************************************  


Part 5


	5. 5

Part 5  
  


"What do you think of Las Vegas so far?" Gil asked Katie, as the three walked down the Strip munching a hot-dog each.

"It's certainly…different," Katie replied. "I like it a lot though."  


"Did you know that they're looking for an intern at CSI?" Gil asked.

Catherine's eyes widened, as did Katie's.

"I'm thinking perhaps you should apply."

Katie and Catherine turned to look at him.

"Are you serious?" Katie asked. "I'd never get in. They need to at least have some idea about criminal investigation. I haven't even started college yet."

"About that…" Catherine said, getting her turn to talk. "I'm thinking that you might like to stay living with me and Lindsey. I mean, that is if you want to and like it."  


Gil smiled. He definitely liked having his daughter much more accessible.

"Are you sure?" Katie asked. 

Catherine smiled. "You're my daughter. That's all that's important."  
************************************************************************

As Catherine's Denali pulled up at home, they noticed a Fed Ex guy about to knock on the door.

"Can I help you?" Catherine asked, getting out of the car.

"I'm looking for Kathryn Markham."  


Katie's eyes widened as she looked at the several small boxes he was standing next to. "It's here already? Geez, I thought it would take another coupla weeks knowing the US Postal service."

"We pride ourselves on our service," the guy said with a monotone voice. "Sign here please."

Katie quickly signed and with Gil and Catherine's help took everything inside.

"Dare we ask?" Catherine said, glancing at the boxes.

Katie smiled. "Actually, they're for you." She opened one of the boxes and slid a videotape out. "I think they're all here." At the confused expressions on her parents faces, she explained. "My adoptive mother had an obsession with documenting every piece of my life on videotape. I thought you might like them."  


Catherine held the tape in her hands, emotions flitting across her face. "This is, you?"  


"For better or worse, yeah. I thought you guys might like them."

"Thanks," Catherine smiled broadly. 

Katie shrugged. "Just make sure I'm not around when you're watching them. They're incredibly embarrassing."  
************************************************************************

Katie had gone to bed, begging exhaustion, and Gil was helping Catherine clean up the kitchen.

"Do you think that maybe…we could watch those tapes?" Gil asked.

Catherine nodded. "Just what I wanted to do tonight. Want some hot chocolate?"

"Sounds great."  


Gil realised how domestic they were together, as they worked comfortably to make some hot chocolate. 

They went into the lounge and Catherine slid the first tape into the VCR. 

Her heart flip-flopped as she saw the image of baby Katie on screen, dressed in baby rompers and staring at the camera. 

"Come on, Katie, you can do it," came the voice from the other side of the camera. 

Gil and Catherine watched, speechless, as the little girl rocked forward and stood up on her little legs. She took one unsteady step and then another, finally plopping down on her butt, looking very surprised.

"Clever girl!" came a woman's voice, and two arms swooped in to pick up Katie. 

Gil was smiling with fatherly pride, and he turned to see Catherine's reaction. To his surprise, tears were streaming down her face.

"Cath?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. "Cath what is it?"  


"That should have been us," she murmured. "When I found out I was pregnant, I thought I was doing the right thing. I was so scared, terrified that she would be addicted to coke and I knew I couldn't take care of her in the way she deserved. And now she's back here, calling us mom and dad, as if I didn't ruin her entire life."

"You made her life better, Catherine."

"No child should be taken from their parents. Not like that. Not because you're scared. Not because you're not sure." She stood up and took the tape from the VCR. Catherine turned to him. "I hesitated. Did I tell you that? They let me hold her, and when I saw her, when I saw us in her, I hesitated. I thought, am I doing the right thing? Perhaps she should be with me, because I was her mother." She sat on the sofa again. "And then I saw the nurse tapping her foot. I handed her over and she was gone."

Gil placed a hand on her cheek, and forced Catherine to look at him. "But she's not gone, Catherine. She's asleep in the other room, safe and sound. Yes, we missed out on some time, but she's our now." He smiled at her. "I think she's always been ours." 

Catherine nodded. "You're right. I guess I just…"

"I know," he told her. 

They stared at each other for a few moments, thoughts rushing through their minds.

"I should put another tape in," she murmured, standing up.

Gil nodded and stood up beside her. As she turned to pick up another tape, he placed a hand on her arm. "Cath…"

She turned around and faced him. "Gil…"

Their mouths crashed together in a moment of utter bliss, and Catherine pushed herself against him, her arms running up his chest to rest around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him, desperate for more contact. 

They pulled apart, their bodies screaming for oxygen. They stared at each other, swollen mouths, mussed hair and aching for each other.

He smiled at her, his finger tracing her lips. "You're beautiful, Catherine."

"I want you," she murmured. She took a step closer to him. "I've wanted you for a very long time." Catherine smiled, her hand taking his and kissing it. "And I've loved you for just as long."

Gil's smile broadened and he cupped her face with his hands. "I love you, Catherine. Very, very much."

She walked into his embrace, and they held each other, relishing in this new stage of the relationship. 

"I want to make love to you, Cath," he told her. "But only when you're ready."

She glanced at her watch then back up to him. "19 years, 2 months, 13 days. I think we've waited long enough."

************************************************************************  


Part 6


	6. 6

Part 7  


  
Catherine's body ached, but it was more than worth it. She and Gil had reacquainted themselves with every inch of each other's bodies last night. It was only 6 in the morning, but she hadn't been able to sleep. Smiling at the stack of tapes, she picked out another one and put it in the VCR.

"Well, our little girl's first word was 'No'," came the voice on the camera, as it zoned in on little Katie, chewing on some plastic keys. "And now she says no to everything." The camera zoomed in a bit more and Katie reached a finger out and poked the machine.

"Hi, Katie."

"No," Katie babbled in her little speech.

"We made a beautiful little girl," came Gil's voice from behind her.

Catherine jumped in surprise and pressed 'pause'. "What are you doing up?"

Gil sat beside her, pulling her into an embrace. "I woke up when you left the bed." He nipped her earlobe. "May I say how incredibly sexy you look in my shirt?"

She smiled at him and then turned back to the TV. "Do you think one day I'll be able to watch this without wanting to cry?"

He kissed her gently. "We're her parents, Catherine. We'll always be her parents. We made her, you and I. Yes, we missed out on some parts of her life, but think of how much more of life she has? And we'll be there, Cath. For all of it."  
************************************************************************

Katie woke up the next morning and wandered into the kitchen. She was beginning to feel at home in this house. She knew where everything was, and everyone's habits. That was why she was surprised to find Catherine humming in the kitchen.

"Mom?"

Catherine's head whipped around and she smiled. "Morning, Katie. Sleep well?"

Katie narrowed her eyes. "Fine. You?"

"Great," Catherine smiled broadly.

"Catherine, I can't find…" Gil walked into the room, sans shirt.

"Oh god," Katie said, squeezing her eyes shut. "This is one of those moments when you wish the floor would just open up and swallow you."  


"Okay, um, Katie…last night…uh…"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Katie begged, eyes still shut.

"Is it so gross that we made love?" Catherine asked, pouting, but with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. 

"Oh geez." Katie turned around. "Excuse me while I go back to bed. This is all going to be a horrible nightmare."  


Catherine smirked as their daughter disappeared out of the room. She turned to Gil and ran her hand over his chest.

"Morning."

He kissed her deeply, hugging her to him. "Morning, beautiful."

She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest. This was how it was supposed to be. Mom, Dad and kids.

************************************************************************

After she had finished orientation at the college, Katie took a bus and headed to the government building of Las Vegas. She had something she had to do.

************************************************************************

Catherine snuggled up in Gil's arms. "While I like making love with you, we should talk."  


He kissed her forehead. "What's to talk about? I love you. I want to be with you. I want to marry you. I want to make love to you. I want to make another baby with you."  


She immediately stiffened in his arms. "What?"

He felt her tense up and he looked down at her. "Did I say something wrong?"

Catherine pulled herself out of his arms and got up, quickly dressing. "Katie will probably be home from the orientation soon. I want to know how it went."

Gil placed a hand on her arm. "Cath? You're avoiding me. Please tell me what is the matter?"

She turned to look at him, trying to rein in the tears that threatened to fall. "I love you, I do. More than anything. And I want to be with you and marry you. But…I gave her up. I gave her up like someone dumps a dog." She stood up. "I was pregnant with our baby, Gil. We made a baby together and I carried her for nine months. You can't imagine the bond I had with her. I talked to her, I looked after her. I went through twenty-eight hours of labour with her, because she turned around half-way. It was almost as if she was begging me not to give her up." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "But I ignored that. I handed her over. And here she is, accepting me as if nothing happened. Coming home as if she's lived here all her life. And when I watched those tapes…that should have been us. I should have been the one hugging her when she took her first step and I should have been the one hearing her first word. But I didn't. I've lost eighteen years of her life, and she's someone else." The tears began to fall. "And it hurts. It really hurts."

"Catherine…" Gil reached out to touch her, to hold her, but when the front door slammed and Katie called out that she was home, Catherine bolted out of his reach, furiously wiping her tears away and heading out the door.

************************************************************************

Catherine stood in the doorway to the spare room, which had been converted into Katie's bedroom. "Hey."  


Katie looked up from where she had been reading and smiled. "Hey."  


"You know, we should go shopping together. Just you and me. I mean, we'll have to get some of your stuff shipped over but you know…"

Katie looked at her strangely. "Are you okay?"

Catherine nodded, and brushed some hair from her daughter's face. "They looked after you well. You're beautiful."  


Katie cracked a smile. "Well, everyone tells me I look like you." She narrowed her eyes. "Are you and Dad okay?"  


Catherine smiled. "Yeah. We're okay." She shifted slightly. "What did you and your mom do together?"

"Me and Jill?"

"Yeah."  


"Not too much. She worked a lot. She and Steve were doctors." Katie rolled her eyes. "That was their big dream for me. They wanted me to go to Harvard and become a doctor. Big disappointment when I picked UNLV from the two application letters."

Catherine's eyes almost popped out of her head. "You were accepted to Harvard?"

Katie snorted. "Not on my own merits, I'm sure. Steve went there, and he donated money every year." She lay back on the bed. "I wanted to make my own path. I didn't want people to have to do things for me."

Catherine lay back beside her. "Harvard, wow."

Katie glanced at her. "Would you have wanted me to go there?"

Catherine shifted positions, and hugged her daughter. "I want you to be happy. That's all I ever wanted, right from the moment I found out I was pregnant. If going to UNLV and being a criminalist is what you want, Gil and I will support you the entire way. If going to Harvard and being a doctor had been what you wanted, we would have supported that too." She kissed Katie's forehead. "You're our daughter, and we will always love you. Not matter what you choose."

Katie hugged her back. "Love you mom."

Catherine blinked away tears. "I love you too."

************************************************************************  


Part 8


	7. 7

Part 8  


  
It was Katie's first night as an intern and she sat in the breakroom, watching her father hand out assignments. Sara's eyes were on her the entire time, almost boring a hole into her. Katie squirmed uncomfortably, and turned her attention to the cases at hand.

"And Katie, tonight you'll be with Greg in the lab."  


Catherine's ears pricked up. "Greg? You want to put her with Greg? Is that safe?"

"I heard that," Greg said, leaning in the doorway. "There is nowhere safer than in the lab with the G-man."

Catherine looked pointedly at Gil who shrugged.

"It's not up to me. They want her to get acquainted with the lab before she goes on fieldwork."  


Katie glanced at Greg. "He doesn't look too hard to handle."

Catherine moaned. "I didn't hear her say that."  


"I'm just a big pussy cat," Greg grinned. He turned and looked at Catherine. "You didn't hear me say that."

************************************************************************

"You couldn't have left her with Archie?" Catherine asked, as she and Gil headed for the Denali.

Gil glanced at her. "What are you worried about?"  


Catherine looked at him, surprised. "It's GREG!"

Gil opened the car door for her. "Well, apart from some of his questionable habits, I don't think he's actually dangerous. To one's sanity perhaps, but not physically." He watched her for a moment.

"What?" Catherine asked, wondering if she had something on her face.

"I love you," he murmured, gently brushing his lips against hers.

She smiled. "I love you too."

************************************************************************

"So, this is where all the action happens," Greg said, sliding into his chair. "Without me, there would be no peace of mind on the streets."  


Katie glanced at him from the seat she had taken beside a bench. "From what I hear, it's safer when you're off the streets."  


Greg narrowed his eyes. "Are you flirting with me?"

"Are you delusional?" Katie shot back.

Greg grinned. "I'm gonna enjoy working with you."  
************************************************************************

When the shift had finished, Catherine went to the lab, checking on her daughter.

"He didn't corrupt you?"

Katie chuckled. "No, he didn't corrupt me."  


"I was the epitome of restraint," Greg grinned, bowing to Catherine.

Catherine gave him a sideways glance and then turned back to her daughter. "Ready to go?"

Katie nodded. "Nice to meet you, Greg."

"Nice to meet you too. Come back anytime," he smiled.

************************************************************************

Gil poked his head around the door to one of the evidence rooms, where Katie watched Nick sift through some dirt.

"Katie, want to come search for bones?"

Nick glanced up. "Huh?"

"Another family pet has brought home a human bone from the desert. Catherine and I are going to check it out."

Nick waved as Katie headed out to the car with Gil.

"I hope you've had all your hepatitis shots," Catherine said, as they approached the car.

"Why did you ask him that?" Katie asked.

"You'll see."

************************************************************************

Gil licked the rock and Katie screwed up her nose.  


"Eww!"

Catherine glanced at her. "Don't ask. Just don't ask."  


"Nope," Gil said, moving onto the next one. He looked at it. "Definitely bone."  


Katie looked at him. "Want to suck it? Just to be sure?"

"No, I can tell," Gil replied, oblivious to his daughter's sarcasm.

Catherine smiled slightly, as she and Katie headed to the next flag.

************************************************************************

"I can't believe all the interesting stuff happens when I'm not around!" Lindsey cried, as Gil picked up one of her bags.

"We'll do our best not to do anything else interesting when you're not here," Catherine said, rolling her eyes.

"Can I watch your home movies?" Lindsey asked Katie.

"Sure. Just not when I'm around. And there will be no making fun of me."  
************************************************************************

Catherine was folding the laundry as Lindsey, ensconced on a beanbag, perused the home videos.

"Hey mom?"

"Mhm?"

"Why didn't you let Katie grow up with me?"

Catherine stiffened. "What do you mean, Linds?"  


Lindsey pointed to the TV screen, where Katie was playing with the woman Catherine presumed to be her adoptive mother. "Why'd you give her to them? You're a better mom and you're her real mom."

"It's complicated, Lindsey."  


Lindsey frowned. "Is that just the grown up way of saying that I'm to young to understand?"

Catherine put the washing down and slid down on the floor next to her daughter. "No, it's my way of telling you that it is really complicated." She brushed Lindsey's hair back. "But if you want to ask any questions, you can." While she was nervous about some of the questions that Lindsey might ask, Catherine felt she needed to be honest. The last thing she needed was complications and lying.

Lindsey looked confused for a moment then looked back into Catherine's eyes. "You love Uncle Gil, right?"

"Very much," Catherine replied.

"Did you love Dad?"

Catherine nodded, afraid of where this was headed.

Lindsey bit her lip. "Did you know Dad when Katie was born?"

"Yes."  


Lindsey pressed some more. "Did you love Dad when Katie was born?"

Cath fidgeted slightly. "I did but we were…having problems."

Lindsey widened her eyes. "You were married to Dad when Katie was born!?"  


Catherine looked at her hands. "We were separated, but yes."

"You told me that you only have sex with someone that you love and only with that person!" Lindsey stood up. "I'm not stupid you know! I watch TV!! You cheated on him!!"

Catherine felt her heart breaking. "Lindsey, you have to understand that…"

"I don't want to understand!!" Lindsey yelled. "You're a liar! All while I was growing up you were mean to Daddy and calling his girlfriends mean names and he never called you anything!"

Catherine could feel the tears threatening and tried to reach out to her daughter. "Lindsey, please…"

"I hate you! I hate Katie and I hate Uncle Gil! But I hate you most of all! You drove Daddy away! You're….you're a bitch!" She went to hit her mother but felt a strong hand grip her wrist.

"Lindsey Anne Willows, apologise immediately," came Gil's stern voice. "Do not make me ask again."  


"Let me go," Lindsey squirmed, hot, angry tears spilling from her eyes.

"Apologise to your mother," Gil said, letting her arm fall away. "Now."

"No!" Lindsey cried, racing to her room and slamming the door.

Gil was about to follow her when he heard Catherine's small voice from the floor. 

"Leave her."  


"Catherine…"

"Leave her," she said more forcefully. "Dammit Gil, I've caused her enough pain!" 

He slid to the floor beside her, enfolding her in his arms and rocking her gently. He felt her body convulse with sobs and he pressed small kisses to her head.

************************************************************************  


Part 9


	8. 8

Part 9  


  
Gil walked into the bedroom that he now shared with Catherine and glanced at her. "Katie's home."  


Catherine looked up sharply. "What did you tell her?"

"Nothing," he replied, sitting beside her. His hands gently cupped her face and forced her to look into his eyes. 'I want to ask you a question."  


She looked at him through tear-stained eyes. "What?"

"I want you to let me tell Lindsey what happened when Katie was born. What happened BEFORE Katie was born."  


Catherine moved away from him. "No."  


"Cath…"

"I said no, goddammit!" she cried, turning her back on him. "For Gods sakes, he's dead! Why the hell do we want to bring that all up again?"

Gil gripped her forearm. "Because he may have loved that girl but he was a bastard to you. And you don't deserve Lindsey storing up all her hatred and taking it out on you, when it's not your fault."

"I deserve it and it is my fault."  


He forced her to look at him. "No it's not, Catherine. Did you ask Eddie to beat you until you thought you were going to die? Did you ask him to cheat on you in your bedroom?"   


"I cheated on him," she replied, looking down again. "I made love to you while I was still married to him." She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I can't tell you the amount of times I wished it was you in that bedroom with me instead of him."

He kissed her gently on the forehead. "I know baby. But you tried to make that marriage work, I know you did. I watched you fight. And you were separated from him when we made love." His eyes darkened. "I watched you take off that wedding ring in my room."  
  
"Lindsey believes that her dad was the greatest man on earth. I don't see why we should take that away from her," Catherine murmured, changing the subject.

Gil noted the change of subject, but decided not to press it further. "She needs to know, Catherine. One day she'll have to know and I think it should be now." He took a deep breath. "And I want to be the one to tell her."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because right now, she's angry and hurting. And I think I should tell her because she might take it better." He smiled at her. "And I think you need a break."  
************************************************************************

It was the next night at the lab. There had not been a chance for Gil to speak to Lindsey yet, and it bothered him. His other daughter was busy reading a case file in the DNA lab. That bothered him too. She seemed to gravitate towards that room everytime she was at CSI.

************************************************************************

"Greg? How long is it going to take? We don't have all night you know!" Sara was back harassing Greg, five minutes after she had left.

"I'm not a miracle worker." 

"Greg! We need those results like two days ago!" Nick said, trudging into the lab.

"Okay! People! Normally I am all for being clamoured over, but generally that is by young women that adore me. So, give your superhuman lab tech some space, and I'll see what these magic fingers can come up with," Greg told them all.

With collective sighs, Nick and Sara disappeared again.

Katie continued reading the case file Warrick had given her. "So I like your tough act."  


Greg looked up and stared at her. "What? Too much?"

Katie locked eyes with him and smirked. "Not enough."

Greg smiled back and then swivelled over on his lab chair so he was sitting next to her. "Um, I was thinking, maybe, you know, if you wanted to and you weren't busy…oh and provided your parents didn't kill me, if maybe you would, like to, I don't know…"

"Greg?" Katie asked, interrupting him.

"Yeah?"

"Are you asking me out?"  


"I was heading that way, yeah."  


"Yes, I will go out with you."  


Warrick headed away from the door. This was gonna get interesting.

************************************************************************

Gil knocked on Lindsey's door the next day. Katie and Catherine had gone out to do some shopping. 

"What?" came the sour voice from inside.

Gil opened the door and watched Lindsey sitting on her bed for a moment, where she was furiously flipping through a magazine. "I need to talk to you."

"Whatever."  


He sat down on the bed. "It's about your mom and dad."

"Who cares?"  


"You do, Lindsey, I know that. And I talked to your mom, and she said I can tell you the truth. All of it."

The magazine was put down and she looked at him. "Not just the edited for kids version?"

Gil nodded.

Lindsey folded her arms. "Fine. Go ahead."

"So, you know how your mom and dad met and got married?"

Lindsey nodded.

"Well, eighteen years ago, your mom and dad were together. I knew your mom back then." He watched her carefully, ready for any reaction. "Your mom and dad were married twice, Lindsey."

Her eyes narrowed. "Huh?"

"They got married very quickly after they first met. They were together for four years before they got divorced. Then just before you were born, they remarried."

"Why?"

"Have you heard of cocaine?"

Lindsey nodded. "It's a drug. Mom said that one time a long time ago she had some."  


Gil nodded. "Yeah. And your dad took it too." He sighed. "Drugs make people turn very different, Lindsey. And your dad, well he became mad when he was on cocaine."  


Realisation began to dawn on the girl. "Did he hurt anyone?"

"He hurt your mom, Linds. He hurt her very much."

Lindsey shook her head. "No. Daddy loved her. He told me."

"Drugs make people do very different things, Lindsey. Your mom would sometimes call me to come and get her."

"But what does that have to do with you and Mom having a baby?"

Gil sighed. "Lindsey, you need to understand that I've always loved your mom. I love her very much and I love you as well. And your mom told me that she told you that sex was something that you did with someone you loved very much, right?"  


Lindsey nodded. "But…"

Gil raised a hand. "I know, she was married to your dad. When Katie was born, your mom and dad were separated. That's the period before divorce where they kind of take a break from each other." He sighed. "I'm not saying what happened was right, but I did love your mom. You have to know that, Lindsey."

"But what about later? Mom just took me and we left."

Gil rubbed his forehead. He hadn't realised how draining this could be. "Your mom came home one night and found your dad here with someone else."

"So?" Lindsey asked. She caught Gil's look. "Oh."  


"Your mom was really upset at that time, Lindsey and that was the last straw. That's why she took you and left. She tried to make that marriage work, and I know because I watched her try."  


"Why didn't she just tell me?"

"Because she loves you. And she knew how much you loved your dad."

Lindsey slid off the bed and stood on unsteady legs. "I want to see mom."

Gil nodded and smiled. "I'll go give her a call."

"Uncle Gil?"

He was about to leave the bed but turned back to her. "Mhm?"

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Thankyou."

"You're welcome, Lindsey." He smiled and headed off to the phone.

************************************************************************

Catherine stretched out on the bed, and smiled at Gil as he came in.

"I guess things went well between you and Lindsey?" he asked.

Her smile broadened. "Mhm. We had a long talk about love, sex, Eddie, me and you and even Katie. I think things are going to be okay now."

"I'm glad," he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "But now I need to talk to you."

The smile left her face. "What's the matter?"

"About the discussion you and I had the other day."

She shuffled up the bed slightly. "Which discussion?"

"You know which discussion, Cath." He sighed. "I wanted to apologise."  


She looked upset. "What for? For making love? For loving me? For wanting to marry me?"  


"No," he assured her quickly, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I would never regret any of those things. I just…I shouldn't have pushed you about wanting to have another baby."

Catherine shrugged it off, her eyes betraying her calm exterior. "It's fine."  


"No, it's not," Gil said firmly. "I don't think I've ever really understood how hard it must have been for you to give her up. I can't imagine how hard it must have been and I hate that I wasn't there to help you."

She laid a hand on his arm. "I do want to make another baby with you, Gil. Very, very much. But…I need some time. Some time to be a mother to Katie and to understand her." Catherine smiled at him. "Give me that time…and we'll see what we can do." She manoeuvred herself to sit in his lap. "But we can practice, if you want."

He smiled. "Always."  
************************************************************************  


Part 10


	9. 9

Part 10

Katie took a deep breath and walked into the lounge room, where Gil and Catherine were watching a movie. "Okay, I'm going out."

Catherine's head popped up. "Where?"  
  
"Huh?"

"We need more clarification," Gil explained.

"Oh okay. Outside?"

"Oh okay, let's try this one. What for?"  


Katie took a deep breath. "On a date."  


Gil almost fell off the sofa and Catherine sat up.

"A date?"

Katie nodded. "Mhm. You know, how guys and girls go out together, spend time together?"

Gil narrowed his eyes. "Who are you going on a date with?"  


"Do we know him? What if he's a criminal?" Catherine said.

"What if he's a she?" Katie chuckled.

"He's a he, isn't he?" Gil asked.

"Yes, it's a he, and no, he's not a criminal. And yes, you do know him."  


Catherine folded her arms. "Do we like him?"

Katie thought for a moment. "In your own special way."

"I don't like the sound of this," Gil muttered.

"Who is it?" Catherine demanded.

Katie sat down on the free chair. "Okay, do you swear to me you're not going to freak out?"

"Oh my god, it is a criminal," Catherine said.

Katie groaned. "It's not a criminal."

"We won't 'freak out'," Gil said carefully.

Katie took another deep breath after analysing them carefully. "Greg Sanders."  


There was silence in the room for a moment.

"Greg Sanders, as in Greg Sanders the lab tech?" Catherine asked.

Katie nodded.

"Are you insane? Have you lost your mind?"

"Did you drop her when she was born?" Gil asked Catherine.

Katie rolled her eyes. "This is you not freaking out?"  


"Did he brainwash you?"  


Katie looked at them. "Okay, you two are starting to get a little carried away here. It's just a date. We're going to a movie, then grabbing some dinner. Nothing to get worked up about."

"It's Greg!!" Catherine cried. "He flirts with everyone thing that walks! He plays music that can be classified as noise pollution. He uses liquid latex!"  


"Not on her he doesn't," Gil said firmly.

The doorbell rang and Katie got up. "Okay, so how about you two have some alcohol, and I'll go on my date."  


"I'll get it," Gil said menacingly, answering the door.

Katie put her head in her hands.

"We're doing this for your own good," Catherine assured her. "Hey, Greg."

"I'm not going to corrupt her, use drugs, drink alcohol or anything illegal. She will be back by her curfew and I'll take really good care of her." Greg turned to Katie. "Hi."  


She smiled and waved. "Hi."

"Oh, and I really, really like your daughter," Greg assured them. "A lot."  
************************************************************************

"How many men are there in Las Vegas?" Catherine asked, putting her magazine down.

"Clearly not enough," Gil said glumly.

"What time is it now?"

Gil glanced at the clock. "Time for me to start watching the windows."  
************************************************************************

"You know, my parents are probably going to be watching at the windows," Katie said, as Greg walked her up to the door.

"Well, then they'll know what a responsible guy I am, walking you to your front door."

Katie smiled wryly and they stood on the porch, staring at each other.

"I should go inside. We don't want them to get the wrong idea." She glanced quickly at the windows and then leaned in to kiss Greg. "Thanks for a great night."  


Greg grinned, and after watching her go in, headed back to his car.

***********************************************************************

"You two would make lousy spies," Katie commented, shutting the door behind her as Cath and Gil almost fell over themselves in their hurry to get away from the window.

"It's a good thing we're CSI's, then," Catherine told her.

"How was your date?" Gil asked, getting quickly to the point.

Katie smiled. "I had a great time."  


Catherine looked at her. "Will you be having more great times?"  


Katie nodded. "Mhm. So you guys are just going to have to get used to it."

***********************************************************************  


Part 11


	10. 10

Part 11

Thanks to Lauri for helping me out on where to go next!

"Gil?" Catherine asked, entering his office. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He looked up and smiled. "Absolutely."

She sat down on the couch and looked at him. "If I was to go away for awhile, would you be able to watch Lindsey?"  


He frowned slightly. "Cath, what's the matter?"

"I want to take Katie away for a while. Just her and me."

Gil sat back in his chair and looked at her curiously. "Why? Is something the matter?"

Catherine sighed. "I need to deal with this, Gil. With what I did. I just need to explain to her, to spend time with her." She stood up and began pacing. "I don't even know who my daughter is." She glanced at him. "I know that you need time with her as well, and I know that you need to get to know her. And I understand this is probably selfish of me, but it's something I need to do."

He stood up and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. "It's not selfish. It's natural." Gil urged her to sit on the couch. "I needed to talk to you about something too."

She looked at him expectantly.

"Cath…I love you. I love you so very much and I have for a very long time. And I love the fact that we made Katie together, and how perfect she is. And I love Lindsey, and how perfect she is." He caressed her cheek. "I want to make our situation more permanent. I want to marry you."

She was silent for a moment, and he wondered if he was moving too fast.

"Cath…"

She put a finger on his lips. "I want to marry you. I really do." Her hand fell away. "But I need to deal with Katie first, okay?"

"You're not scared of me, are you?" He couldn't handle it if she was scared of him. He loved her too much.

"No," she assured him firmly. "But everything seems to be piling on top of each other. And right now, no matter how much I love you and wanted to marry you, I need to deal with Katie first. Okay?"

He nodded and took a box from his pocket. "Would you…would you just hold onto it for me? Until you're ready to wear it?"  


She opened the box and smiled through a light sheen of tears at the diamond ring nestled inside. Catherine closed the box and looked back up at him. "Okay."

************************************************************************

Katie rested her feet on the dashboard. "And the reason you're not wearing it, is?"

"I probably shouldn't have told you," Catherine said, glancing over. "And take your feet off the dashboard."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I mean, if a guy wanted me to marry him, and adored me that much, I'd say yes."  


"It's complicated."

"That's becoming painfully obvious."  


Catherine shot her a look. Katie glanced at her and shrugged.

************************************************************************

"We're fine," Catherine smiled into the phone. "Katie's in the shower, and we're ordering dinner in a moment. No, the traffic was fine." She leant back onto the pillow. "I love you too."  


Katie walked into the room, towelling her hair and rolled her eyes at the exchange. 

"Our daughter just rolled her eyes at us," Catherine said. She chuckled. "No, I'm not telling her that. She's too young."  


"Oh geez," Katie groaned, flopping onto the bed. 

Catherine handed over the phone. "Here, talk to your father."  


"Hi, Dad," Katie said, settling onto the bed. "No, you're just being gross. Yes, I know I'm eighteen but just because I'm a legal adult, doesn't mean it's not gross when you think about your parents doing…stuff." She wrinkled her nose.   
"That's it, I'm putting you back onto mom now."

Catherine chuckled and took back the phone. "You scarred our daughter." Her face softened and she smiled. "Okay. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you too. Bye." 

Catherine hung up the phone and rolled to face her daughter. "We're not gross."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Whatever you reckon." She folded her arms. "What's this trip about? You've been…weird ever since we left home."  


"Weird?"

Katie gave her a look that Catherine recognised as pure Grissom. 

Catherine smiled and brushed a look of hair from her daughter's face. "You're a smart girl." She sighed. "I do want to talk to you about something. But it can wait."

Katie put a hand on her mother's arm. "No it can't. It's gonna bug me all weekend." She smiled sweetly. "Do you want to be responsible for that?"  


Catherine narrowed her eyes. "Fine. We'll talk now."

Katie smiled and handed her to the room service menu. "I think we're going to need food." 

************************************************************************

"So," Lindsey said, staring at Grissom.

"So," he replied, staring back at her.

"We should probably get some dinner," Lindsey suggested.

"Good idea," Gil nodded, and went and looked at the fridge. "What do you feel like?"

Lindsey grinned. "Can we have pizza?"

Gil looked at the little girl, whose bright smile reminded him so much of the woman he missed. "That's a good idea."  
************************************************************************  


Part 12


	11. 11

Part 12  
  


Katie watched her mother's eyes soften in obvious memory and a slight smile play at the corner of her lips, and she patiently waited for her to come back from the past…

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Catherine sashayed towards the table where Eddie sat, her eyes intent on the man sitting beside him. He intrigued her, and she remembered how while Eddie's eyes had travelled up and down her body, mainly fixating on her chest, this man had watched her eyes the entire night.

"Want to introduce me to your friend, Ed?"

"Oh, right. Gil Grissom, this is Cath. Catherine, Gil." Eddie downed another beer. "You look great."

"Thanks," Catherine replied, her attention turning back to Gil, who had yet to say a word. "What did you think?" she asked him.

"You have lovely eyes. Very expressive," he murmured.

Eddie groaned. "Grissom works with dead bodies."

"Actually, I work evidence," Gil clarified to Eddie, who clearly wasn't interested.

But Catherine was. Catherine was fascinated.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"Mom?"

Catherine's head whipped around. "Huh?"

"Were you in a nice place?"

Catherine smiled wryly. "Sorry. I was just thinking." She sighed. "Thinking of how to tell you."  


"Just tell me the truth." Katie made herself comfortable on the bed. "Just as long as you leave out the gross details."

"What do you know?"

Katie narrowed her eyes. "About the gross details?"

Catherine laughed and lay back beside her. "No. About my life in general."

Katie shrugged. "Just what I saw in the papers. And what I found on various hacking sprees. All in all, just bits and pieces."  


"So you know I was married before?"

"To Eddie."  


Catherine nodded. "Yes, to Eddie. Twice actually."

"Why?"  


"It's hard to explain. I guess I thought he was safe."

Katie looked confused. "I thought he hurt you?"

"He did. But…I was young and confused. I was addicted to cocaine then too."  


Her daughter's eyes widened. "You were addicted to cocaine?"

"That was one of the reasons I was so scared when I found out I was pregnant." Catherine touched her daughter's face, something she had wanted to do for a very long time. "I was so afraid that you would be born addicted to it and I didn't want to do that to you."

"But I didn't," Katie said. "I'm fine."  


Catherine smiled sadly. "You're wonderful. Perfect, even." She absently toyed with her fries and finally looked back up. "I was also a stripper. That's where I met Gil. And Eddie for that matter."  


"Beats a bar," Katie smirked.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Trust me, you will not be meeting guys in strip clubs." She chewed on a fry. "The jury is still out on bars."  


Katie stole a fry from Catherine's plate. "I can't imagine dad in a strip club."  


Catherine smirked. "It was certainly a sight to behold." She shook her head and went back to the original subject. "Anyway, I married Eddie back then. It was short, explosive and we weren't ready for marriage. Eddie and I both had a cocaine problem and I guess the cocaine had different effects on each of us. Cocaine and alcohol made Eddie angry." She looked at her hands. "I probably didn't help. I wanted to work with Gil as a CSI and Gil wanted me to stop using." She sighed. "I suppose that Eddie was probably jealous because when I needed someone, I started calling Gil instead. So we separated."

"I guess this is where I come in," Katie said. She had never thought she had been born because of pity. 

Catherine saw the look in her daughter's eyes and quickly put a hand on her arm. "I know what you're thinking. Don't. I loved Gil. I loved him back then and I was stupid to run away from what I felt. But I did. And I grew up a little. Obviously I didn't outgrow Eddie, but I did grow up." She sat back. "I went to see Eddie sometimes. I suppose he was the first person to love me after my parents, and I clung to that. I clung to it very hard. Unfortunately, Eddie didn't and we used to fight a lot. One night it was very bad, and after Eddie left, I called Gil to come and get me." Her smile returned, her memories special. "He was so important to me and so good to me. And I loved him very much. Still do." She hugged her daughter. "That's where you came in."

"Okay." Katie snuggled up to her mother. "Then the talk is over now?"

Catherine looked down at her. "No. I want to tell you why."

"I don't need to know that."

"Yes you do," Catherine said firmly. "And I need to tell you." She stroked her daughter's hair. "I wanted you. I was determined to have you. I stayed in Las Vegas till I started showing too much, then I went to Miami, where I had an old friend. I was so incredibly scared. This friend suggested I give you up for adoption. So I signed the papers and I prayed for someone who would look after you well. And they came and I signed even more papers." Her eyes glistened with tears. "And you were born and you were perfect. And as much as I knew I couldn't take care of you the way you deserved. I held you in my arms and you looked at me. I couldn't believe how much you looked like me and Gil. I hesitated. I didn't want to let you go but…I did. I let you go." 

"It's okay. I'm okay."

"Twenty-eight hours of labour. You turned around halfway. In my mind, you were asking me not to let you go. But I had to." She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Did I make any sort of sense?"

Katie nodded. "I think I understand now."

Catherine smiled. "I'm glad."

************************************************************************

During the night, Catherine awoke and rolled over, staring at the box on the bedside table. She missed Gil, more than she had thought possible. And God, she wanted to marry him. 

"Would you just put the thing on?" Katie mumbled, turning over.

Catherine turned around. "Huh?"  


"You love him, he loves you. I'm not entirely sure what the problem is."  


Catherine sighed. "The problem is…it's complicated."  


"What in life isn't complicated? My whole existence is complicated." Katie stared at her mother. "What do you want?"

Catherine narrowed her eyes. "Have you become a counsellor now?"

Katie shrugged. "I just figure, that if you really want something, go for it. Forget everything else and any consequences." She smiled. "I did."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, before I came back here looking for you, I had to think of the consequences. My adoptive parents, you, Dad. The future. Everything. And then I figured, screw it. I didn't want anything else in life but to know you or at least see you for real." Katie grinned. "I figure it all turned out okay, yeah?"

Catherine nodded. She opened the box and stared at the ring inside. Without a moment's hesitation, she removed it from the box and slipped it on her finger. It fit. Perfectly.

"Great, now I'm going back to sleep. Night," Katie said, turning on her side.

"Night," Catherine murmured, staring at the ring. She smiled and closed her eyes.

************************************************************************  


Part 13


	12. 12

Part 13

"You're a cool baby-sitter," Lindsey told Gil. "Mom would never let me have ice-cream for breakfast."  


Gil looked at Lindsey's concoction. He had forgotten to go to the store, like Catherine had asked him, and consequently, there had been nothing left for breakfast. Lindsey had bargained with him and told him she wouldn't tell Catherine that he forgot if she could have ice cream for breakfast. 

"We're going to the store before they get home, right?" he asked, worried that Catherine would come home and discover his error.

"Sure," Lindsey smiled, running the spoon around the plate one more time. She got up and put her plate in the sink. "Just let me brush my teeth and we can go."

************************************************************************

Catherine narrowed her eyes. "Why do you want to take Lindsey out shopping?"

"I just feel her childhood should be safeguarded," Katie replied, flicking around for a channel on the radio.

Catherine looked confused. "Why would…Katie!"  


Her daughter looked innocently at her. "What?" She grinned. "I'm just trying to be a considerate daughter."  


Catherine pulled up outside the house. "It's times like these I wish you were more like your father."  


Katie rolled her eyes as they approached the front door. "Oh please. You don't think he's gonna thank me later?"

Catherine was about to reply in kind when Lindsey flew through the door.

"You're back! We heard the car pull up!" She hugged her mother tight and then her sister, finally dragging them both through the door.

Gil walked through quickly and hugged his daughter. He pulled Catherine to him and kissed her deeply. 

Lindsey wrinkled her nose. "Eww." She caught the flash of her mother's finger and grabbed her hand. "Mom! You're wearing a diamond!"  


Gil took her hand and looked at the ring and then at her. She smiled at him and nodded.

"Hey, Linds, how about we go and do some shopping? I can tell you all about the spa," Katie suggested.

Lindsey looked from her mom to Gil. "Okay. These two are being weird. Let's go."

************************************************************************

Gil let his finger trace her hand, running over the ring and back again. "Are you sure?"  


Catherine smiled at him. "About marrying you? Only the surest I've been about anything before. Even more sure than forensic evidence."  


"I'm touched," he smiled, kissing her hand.

"Gil…" she whined. "Enough with staring at the ring. You bought it. I've been away for an entire weekend. I missed you."  


Gil crushed her against him and their lips joined in a bruising kiss. "I missed you too," he whispered, as their lips met again.

She moaned and pushed herself against him, her arms wrapping around his neck. "Next time I go away, you're coming with me," she murmured against his lips. "I don't like being away from you."

"I don't like it either," he replied, kissing her again. He pulled her hard against him and they hugged.

Catherine's hand slipped down between them and brushed over his growing erection. "Katie has taken Lindsey out shopping. I think we need to make up for the weekend."

"Oh, absolutely," Gil agreed, taking her hand and going to the bedroom. He caressed her cheek. "I love you so much, Cath. I'm so glad you want to marry me."

She smiled and kissed him gently. "I don't just want to marry you, Gil. I want it all. I want us to be a family with Katie and Lindsey. And I want to make another baby with you. And this time, I want you to be there for every step of the way."

He smiled broadly. "Really?"

Catherine took his face in her hands. "Really." She toyed with the top button on his shirt. "Wanna practice with me?"

Her answer was a long, slow kiss that took her breath away.

"I'll take that as a yes," she replied, a few moments later.

They were so desperate to be close to each other, as close as humanly possible, that their clothes were off in record time and they came together on the bed, holding each other and caressing.

As he slid into her she cried out, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling him deeper inside her.

They kissed again, a slow, deep kiss until she nudged him impatiently and he began to move inside her. Her hands skimmed over his arms and finally rested at his hips and her eyes closed, letting the feelings of their union take over.

He watched her, the woman he would spend the rest of his life loving and the woman he had made a baby with so many years ago. Hearing her moan, he snapped out from his reverie and smiled at her.

"I want to watch you, Cath. I love to watch you."

Her eyes opened and locked onto his. An intense wave rolled over her and as he sped up, she called his name as her orgasm crashed into her, rocking her to the core.

"Cath…" he cried, as he thrust deep and spilled inside her.

They collapsed together, hands caressing and he pressed a warm kiss to her lips.

"I love you, Catherine."

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you, Gil."

************************************************************************

"So, we're all going to be a family now," Lindsey said, as she and Katie walked along the mall.

Katie nodded. "Is that okay with you?"

"Are you kidding? It's great! I've always wanted a sister." Lindsey frowned. "But what about your last name?"

Katie gestured to a chair and they sat down. "Can you keep a secret?"

Lindsey nodded. 

Katie pulled out her drivers licence and gave it to Lindsey. The little girl scanned her eyes across it and then her mouth dropped open.

"Your name is Kathryn Hope Grissom?"

Katie smiled. "I had my name changed a while ago. It's only just official. But I want to save it for a special moment to tell mom and dad."

"They're going to love it!" Lindsey pretended to zip her lip and throw the lock away. "And I promise I won't tell."

************************************************************************

Catherine snuggled closer, her hand resting on Gil's chest. She watched the ring glitter and smiled.

"Now who's staring at the ring?"

She glanced at him. "We're getting married."

He kissed her gently. "I know."

"I think we should get married now."

Gil raised an eyebrow. "As in right now this second? Because I don't think that anyone would appreciate us leaving the house looking like we do now."

Cath rolled over and straddled him. "You mean looking like we've just had great sex?"

He shook his head. "No. Looking like we've just had fantastic sex."  


She bent down and kissed him, her hair falling around her face. "Mmm. It was pretty fantastic, wasn't it?"

He brushed her hair from her face. "It's always fantastic sex when it's with you. That's all it's ever been. It was like that the first night we were together."

Catherine smiled sadly, pressing herself close to him. "The night we made Katie."

Gil kissed her gently. 'Please don't be sad about that. It was an amazing night, Catherine."

She kissed him back. "It's not the night I'm sad about, or the fact that we have a daughter together. It's more…if I hadn't run away…"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "You didn't run away, Cath. And if you hadn't left Las Vegas, we wouldn't have Lindsey. And we wouldn't have such a deep relationship. And you were right Cath…neither of us was ready to have a child." He hugged her close. "But we are now."

She traced a finger over his chest. "Let's get married and then go away. Just the two of us."

Gil smiled. "I could definitely be into that idea."

"Really?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

His hands roamed over hips. "Mmm. Definitely."

She giggled and then squealed as he flipped her over, kissing her deeply.

************************************************************************  


Part 14 


	13. 13

Part 14

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Catherine asked her daughters.

"Would you guys just go do the honeymoon thing already?" Lindsey asked.

"Yeah, preferably at the hotel you booked and not here," Katie added. "We'll be fine. I'm a mature responsible person. Lindsey obeys me." She turned to her sister. "Right?"

Lindsey saluted her. "Yes ma'am." She grinned at Catherine and Gil. "See?"  


"We'll be fine," Katie assured her.

Catherine smiled and hugged her tight. "I know you will. You're a great kid." She hugged Lindsey. "So are you, kiddo. I love you both very much, that's all."  


"You've got the number of the hotel and Nancy. We'll have our cells with us and turned on. And Linds, you're staying with Nancy for a few hours while Katie goes into the lab tomorrow night, okay?"

Lindsey nodded. "Okay."

The two girls waved the newlyweds off and went back inside. Katie locked the door securely, and then went to flop down beside Lindsey on the couch.

"Finally!" Katie said.

"Amen to that," Lindsey nodded. She perked up. "Want some icecream?"

********************************************************************************************************

"You know," Catherine said, as she turned on the spa bath in their room, "I'm really glad we did the quick wedding with only the girls there."

"Dare I ask why?" Gil smiled, coming into the bathroom and pressing kisses to her neck.

She turned around in his arms and smiled. "Because I've been dying to get out of this dress and I am searching for someone to help me."

Gil growled low in his throat and unzipped the dress. "I'm more than happy to oblige."

***************************************************************************************************************

The next evening, Katie sat in the breakroom as Warrick read out the assignments.

"Katie, you want to come?" Nick asked, accepting a burglary from Warrick.

The girl shook her head. "Not tonight, guys. I want to make sure I have a normal night, because I've got to get back to Lindsey."  


Nick smiled. "Okay." He mussed her hair. "Have fun canoodling in the lab with Greg."  


Katie stuck her tongue out at him as the other three CSI's left the room. She got up and headed down to the lab, grinning as she saw Greg doing an impromptu dance to some song on the radio. She snuck into the room and stood   
watching him for awhile. He turned around in his routine and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw her standing there. 

"Geez! Are you trying to kill me?"

She grinned and kissed him. "Nah. You're no use to me dead."  


He rolled his eyes and took his headphones off. "So, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

She sat down on his swivel chair. 'Pleasure is right. I am spending the night here."

Greg smiled broadly. "I think we can handle that." He coughed. "And of course, any evidence that comes our way."

***************************************************************************************************************

When finish time came for Katie and Greg, the other three CSI's still weren't back.

Judy, the receptionist, popped her head into the lab.

"Hey guys. I just got a call from Nick. He's gone to meet up with Warrick and Sara on a homicide. He said he'll see you tomorrow." She waved them goodnight and headed back to her desk.

"Want a lift home?" Greg asked, grabbing his things.

Katie nodded. "Yeah. I don't know that my parents are entirely trustful of my driving yet. Nancy dropped me off. Just let me get my things from the locker and we'll go, okay?"

Greg smiled. "Okay. I'll head out to the car and get it heated up. This weather makes it a slow starter."

He walked her to the locker rooms and then headed outside. 

Then he heard it. That same noise that had haunted him when the lab had blown up the previous year. He couldn't even turn as an almighty explosion threw him back onto the ground.

Heat and debris flew over the top of him and he felt glass from the front door on his back. Greg thought he had blacked out for a moment and when he came to, she was the first thing on his mind.

"KATIE!!!" he screamed, turning towards the shattered building.

***************************************************************************************************************  


Part 15


	14. 14

Part 15

Jim Brass hated the smell of hospitals. But today…today it was worse. 

They were still plucking people out of the debris of the labs. Luckily it had been a time when not to many people had been in the building. So far there was one lab technician confirmed dead. Several were in surgery. Many had minor injuries.

"I don't want to make this call," he said, turning to Warrick.

Warrick was pale. None of the graveshift CSI's had been in the building during the explosion. They had arrived to something that to them, was more horrific than the crime scene they had just attended. Brass had been there and filled them in. 

"I don't think anyone does," Warrick replied. He sighed. "Do you want me to make it?"

Brass shook his head. "No. It's my job." 

***************************************************************************************************************

"What's that?" Grissom mumbled, as Catherine kissed him deeply.

"Hmm?" she asked, her hands travelling downwards.

"It's my cell," Grissom said.

The two pulled apart and Grissom answered the phone. 

"Who died? Because I sincerely remember saying that unless a fate worse than death…" He trailed off as Brass explained the situation. His face grew paler and paler and Catherine grew more anxious.

"We're on our way," were his final words. "Pack, now," he ordered his wife.

"What's going on?" Catherine asked him, scared senseless by his actions.

"Lab…explosion. Greg…Katie…" were the only words he managed to get out.

***************************************************************************************************************

They didn't know how they made it to the hospital. All they knew was that they made it and were about to face one of their worst nightmares as they stood in front of the receptionist's desk.

"My name is Gil Grissom. We're looking for our daughter, Kathryn Hope Matthews," Gil managed to get out.

The receptionist typed a few things and then looked up at them. "We don't have a Kathryn Matthews."

"You have to!" Catherine cried. "This is the hospital they brought her to. From the CSI lab!"  


The woman looked down again and typed some more. She looked back up. "We have a Kathryn Hope Grissom. Is that your daughter?"

They both froze.

"Yes, where is she?" Gil demanded.

"I have to send you to the ICU ward. They're dealing with the serious cases from the explosion."

The words "serious" "ICU" and the fact their daughter was using the name Grissom reverberated through the minds of Catherine and Gil as they silently rode the elevator. When they arrived, they spotted Jim, Sara, Nick and Warrick sitting in the plastic chairs. Brass spotted them and the group went over.

"What happened? What's going on?" Gil demanded.

"You need to sit down," Brass told them.

"I need to know what's going on with my daughter!" Catherine cried.

"She's in surgery," Warrick butted in.

"What the hell happened?" Gil asked again.

"All we know is the lab exploded. They found Katie in the locker room. They pulled Greg out too."

"Was she there because of Greg?" Gil cried, fury taking over him.

"Grissom, Greg went back in there after her," Nick told him. "They were leaving for the night."

"She's alive," Catherine said.

Sara grabbed the older woman's arm before she fell and helped her to a chair. "She's in surgery, Cath. That's all we know."

"Where's Lindsey?" Gil asked, willing the tears not to fall.

"Nancy has her. We called her and told her what happened," Brass explained. "We told her not to tell Lindsey. We thought you would prefer to do that."

Gil nodded and glanced at his wife. He looked back at the rest of his team. "And Greg?"

"He's going to be fine. He has some serious burns on his back and some superficial ones elsewhere, but he'll be fine," Warrick assured him.

"I want to know what happened, Jim. And I want to know who did it," Gil said firmly.

Jim sighed. "And how is that going to help?"

"Because then I'll kill him," Gil growled.

"Or her," Sara added.

Jim, Nick and Warrick glared at her. 

"What? I'm just saying."  


"Did they say how long she'd be in surgery?"

Jim shook his head. "How about I go talk to one of the nurses. You'll probably need to fill out some forms or something."  
  
Warrick glanced at Catherine, who hadn't said a word. He could tell she was crying, but was doing her best to keep it hidden from the rest. 

"Nick, how about you go with Brass? Sara and I will go check on Greg."

Nick saw what Warrick was trying to do and nodded. "Okay. We'll be back, Gris."

Grissom watched them go and then turned his attention to Catherine. She had curled herself up on the waiting room chair. Her jacket was pulled tight around her, even though the hospital was kept at a comfortable temperature. She was staring out the window intently, her face away from him. 

He knew she was crying.

"Cath?"

He watched her rummage for a packet of tissues and he heard her sniffle as she attempted to wipe away the tears. After a moment he moved over and sat beside her. 

"Catherine?" he murmured, his hand turning her head towards him.

She smiled a watery smile at him. "Hey."

"How are you doing? Do you need something to drink or eat?"

"I can't," she replied. "Don't feel well."

He gathered her into his arms. "She's going to be fine, Cath. She's just like you. Tough."  


Catherine looked up at him. "You can't be sure of that. They won't know until she comes out of surgery…if…"

He put a finger to her lips. "Don't say that. She'll be fine."

Jim and Nick came back, a clipboard and some forms with them. 

"They said a doctor is coming out to speak with you soon," Jim told them, handing the forms over.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Catherine told Gil, leaving him to do the forms. 

She burst through the door and barely made it before she emptied her stomach contents in the toilet. Tears sprung at the corner of her eyes and she slid down to the floor, sobbing her heart out.

She knew it was her fault. She had consistently ruined this girl's life and now she was going to be responsible for her death as well. Catherine had given her up at birth, then Katie had returned with nothing but a smile for her mother. If she hadn't been on her honeymoon, if she had been at home where she belonged, taking care of her daughters, this wouldn't have happened.

"Cath?"

She stood up on shaky legs. "Gil, are you in the women's bathroom?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried."

"I'll be there in a minute."

***************************************************************************************************************

"Mr and Mrs Grissom?"

Gil and Catherine stood up, watching the doctor approach them.

"I'm Dr Fletcher. I worked on your daughter." He glanced at Jim and Warrick.

"Jim Brass, Las Vegas PD. This is Warrick Brown from the crime lab."  


Dr Fletcher nodded and then turned his attention back to Cath and Gil. "Your daughter is in a critical but stable condition. According to the rescuers, your daughter was found in the locker room, underneath an open locker, which managed to shield her from most of the debris. Unfortunately, when she was thrown back by the blast she fell on some wood and glass, which caused some serious wounds to her back. She had a ruptured spleen, which we repaired in surgery and a serious injury to her head. When she wakes up, we'll have more of an idea to whether it caused brain damage, but we don't think so at the moment. Now we just have to wait."

"Thankyou," Gil said, holding Catherine's hand tight.

"Can we see her?" Catherine asked, desperation in her voice.

"She's in recovery at the moment, but we'll be moving her to ICU soon. I'll send a nurse to get you."

**************************************************************************************************************  


Part 16


	15. 15

Part 16

Thanks to Mel for all the help with the research etc.

Catherine sat beside her daughter's bed, her eyes running over the tubes protruding from her prone body. The constant beeps reminded her of her daughter's presence, and Catherine took the girls hand, careful of the tubes.

"Hey sweetheart. Mommy's here. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere every again. I promise I'll never leave you again." She bent down and kissed Katie's hand. "I love you sweetheart. I'm so sorry." Catherine wiped away the tears with her free hand. "Daddy's here too. He's just filling out a huge bunch of forms for you." She brushed a lock of hair back from Katie's face. "Greg's doing just fine. Sara and Warrick went to check on him. He went back in after you." 

Catherine felt Gil's presence behind her and she let out a shuddering sigh as his hand rested on her shoulder.

"I don't know if I can do this. It's so hard and she's so…"

He kissed the top of her head. "I know. But she needs us. And while this is tough for us, it's tougher for her."

"It's my fault," Catherine murmured, stroking her daughter's hand. "This is all my fault."

Gil immediately knelt before her. "Cath? What are you talking about?"

"It's my fault," she repeated.

"You didn't put the bomb in there, Catherine," Gil said firmly. "This has nothing to do with you."

She glared at him. "How can you say that? This has everything to do with me. She's my daughter. I gave birth to her eighteen years ago and I have been screwing up her life ever since. Don't you dare tell me this has nothing to do with me."

Gil was taken aback for a moment until he saw the tears start to fall. "Cath, come here."

She slid down to the floor beside him, and as he pulled her into his arms, her body began to shake with sobs.

"You didn't ruin her life, Cath, I promise you that. You're an amazing woman and I love you so much. Please don't forget that."

***************************************************************************************************************

She had refused anything to eat. She wasn't hungry, she just felt nauseous. Gil had tried to lecture her, telling her she needed to eat but she hadn't been in the mood to hear it. Instead, he had gone off to get food, and she just knew he would be bringing back something for her.

The thought of food made her stomach roll again, and after promising her unconscious daughter that she would be right back, she started to go down to the bathroom. 

Her body was stiff, from sitting in the plastic chair for so long, holding Katie's hand, but she forced herself to move. She felt a little faint, but chalked it down to feeling sick. That was before she passed out.

***************************************************************************************************************

The doctor came back into the room and Catherine looked up at him.

"Well, congratulations, Mrs Grissom."

Catherine blinked. "Pardon?"

"You're pregnant, Mrs Grissom. 

She felt numb. On one hand, it was something that she and Gil had wanted more than anything. Another baby. One that he would always be there for, that this time they would do it right. 

But how could she possibly take care of another baby when she couldn't even look after her eldest daughter? And to get pregnant at a time like this…how could she have been so stupid?

"How many weeks?" she managed to choke out.

The doctor smiled at her. "Five."

Catherine raised an eyebrow as she watched the doctor set up the ultrasound. "Isn't it a little early for that?"

The doctor nodded. "Normally, yes, but I want to make sure everything is okay. You collapsed, Mrs Grissom, and that's not indicative of a normal pregnancy."

Catherine almost laughed at the irony of it all. "My eldest daughter is in ICU. Is that indicative of a normal pregnancy?"

The doctor looked at her. "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope she'll be doing better soon." She spread some cold gel on Catherine's abdomen and turned on the ultrasound. 

Catherine's eyes strained to look on the grainy screen. The doctor noticed this and pointed a blob on the screen.

"That's the gestational sac. We won't see the fetus yet, because it's too early, but I can't see any bleeding." She started when Catherine burst into tears. "Mrs Grissom? That's a good thing. Can I call your husband?"

Catherine shook her head emphatically, and rested her head against the pillow. "I'm sorry. I'll be fine."

***************************************************************************************************************

Catherine had decided not to tell Gil about the baby. At least not until they knew Katie was alright. She was terrified that there was something wrong with their daughter because she hadn't woken up yet even though the doctors said that was normal.

She had been given all the usual pregnancy information, as well as the tablets, eating regimen and the whole nine yards. Even though she was excited about the fact that she and Gil were going to have another baby together, she was terrified about what was going to happen. 

Mindful of the tubes and cords, Catherine crawled into the bed beside her daughter. She curled up next to her, one hand stroking through her hair, the other holding Katie's free hand. 

"I'm right here, sweetheart. I'm not leaving you ever again, I promise. I'll try to be a better mother to you, I swear. I'm so sorry about everything I've done to you and I promise I'll try to do better," she whispered into her daughter's ear. "I know you can hear me. Please wake up. Please."

**************************************************************************************************************  


Part 17


	16. 16

Part 17

Gil stood in the doorway to Greg Sander's room. He had been moved out of ICU and was now in a private room. 

"…and in further news, regarding yesterday's horrific bombing of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, police have said there are no suspects yet, but they are following all leads. The official death toll is at two. Both of the deceased were lab technicians. Meanwhile, lab technician Greg Sanders has been moved out of ICU and is said to be recovering. There has been no further change on the daughter of criminalists Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows. Kathryn Hope Grissom remains in the ICU ward of Desert Palms Hospital where her parents are said to be keeping a round the clock vigil…"

Greg glanced at Grissom. "No change?"

Grissom shook his head. "Catherine won't leave her side."

Greg sighed. "I should have waited for her. I should have gone with her…"

"And then you'd both be in the same situation," Gil fired back. He softened for a moment. "I actually came here to thank you."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Me? What did I do?"

"You went back in."

"I had to. Katie was still in there."

Grissom nodded. "That's what I'm thanking you for."

"Thank me when she walks out of here," Greg replied. "But I appreciate the gratitude." He squirmed in his bed, trying to find a comfortable position. "She will walk out of here, won't she?"  


Grissom looked him in the eye. "Yes."

***************************************************************************************************************

"Man, this sucks," Warrick said, kicking the dirt off the pavement.

Sara sent him a look. "Would you stop doing that?"

"Why am I being a litterbug?"

Sara was about to reply in kind when Nick stood between them.   


"Okay guys, we're all tired and upset. Let's keep it cool, okay?"

"How can there be so much evidence, and no suspects?" Warrick growled. "And why the hell is Ecklie working the case?"

"Because apparently we're too emotionally involved," Sara replied. She glanced at Warrick. "Imagine that."

Brass came out before the three could get into a shouting match. "Okay we've got a lead."  


The three turned to him.

"What kind of lead?"

"The good kind. You guys want to go for a ride?"

Nick narrowed his eyes. "I thought this was Ecklie's case?"

"I'm not asking Ecklie, I'm asking you three. Do you want to go for a ride?"

"Lead us to the car," Warrick said.

***********************************************************************************************************

Gil stood in the doorway to Katie's hospital room. His heart almost broke at the site of his wife curled up beside their daughter. She was whispering to her, mostly telling her how much she loved her.

"Cath?"

Catherine looked back at him and smiled sadly at him. "I just needed to be closer to her."

He walked over and sat in the vacant plastic chair. "That's okay. I know the feeling."

"How's Greg?" Catherine asked, turning her face back to her daughter and resuming stroking her hair.

"He's doing okay. Sore and uncomfortable, but okay." Grissom didn't tell his wife about thanking Greg. That was for later. Discussing Greg was for later. Now was for their daughter. "I rang Nancy. Lindsey's doing okay. Nancy didn't send her to school today. Apparently reporters are all around the house."

Catherine closed her eyes. "Bastards." 

"What have you been talking to Katie about?" Gil asked, moving to the other side of the bed and taking his daughter's other hand.

"About us. About Lindsey. About what we're going to do when she gets better." She looked up at Gil. "About how much we love her."  


"She knows that, Cath," he murmured. "And you know that this was not your fault. She would hate knowing that was what you were thinking."

"But she doesn't does she?" Catherine said, a tear slipping down her face. "All she knows is what she's lived so far. Lived with her mother giving her to someone else because she was too damn scared to handle it. Her mother not being there when she should have been."

Gil looked at his wife sternly. "Catherine, Katie would still have gone to CSI that night. In all likelihood so would you and I. You didn't do this."  


"Then how come I feel so responsible?" Catherine asked, the tears falling again. She was about to wipe them away with her hand when she felt Katie's hand move. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Gil. "Her hand moved."  


His eyes widened and looked at her. "Are you sure?"  


All she could manage were a rapid succession of nods. She bent down to whisper in her daughter's ear. "Katie? Honey? Open your eyes if you can hear me. Please sweetheart."

Katie's eyes began to flutter and slowly opened, squinting against the light. She tried to talk, but couldn't because of the tube in her mouth.

"I'll get the doctor," Grissom said, racing out of the room.

Catherine smiled a watery smile at her daughter and stroked her hair. "Hey baby. Everything's okay. You're okay."

The doctor rushed into the room with Grissom and a nurse. They checked her vitals and the doctor smiled at Katie.

"Hello there Kathryn. Nice to meet you. We're going to take the tube out now so when I count to three, I want you to breathe out as much as you can, okay?"

Katie coughed as the tube came out and the nurse helped her drink some water.

"Mom?" Katie asked, trying to find her mother in the room.

"I'm here baby. I'm here," Catherine said, taking her hand and holding it. "You're okay. You're doing so well."

"Do you remember anything about what happened?" the doctor asked Katie.

She nodded. "Went to my locker and then there was a huge bang. Stuff was flying everywhere and there was smoke everywhere. Then I heard Greg…" Her eyes widened. "Where's Greg?"

"He's fine," Gil said, smiling at his daughter. "He'll be glad to know you're okay."  
***************************************************************************************************************

"Alright!" Warrick said, closing his cell phone. 

"What?" Nick asked.

"That was Gris. Katie's awake and she's doing okay."  


"Now all we have to do is find the creep that did this," Jim said.

"Where exactly are we going?" Sara asked. "We've been driving for an hour. Not to mention the three stops for directions."

"Got a tip about someone that used to be employed at CSI and got laid off," Jim explained.

"Really?"

"His name is Barry Leeward. Apparently he used to work piecing together bombs and such at CSI."

"Handy," Nick commented.

Brass nodded. "We thought so. He got laid off for tampering with evidence…multiple times. The investigators suspected he had his hand in a few pies."  


"Hands in pies and tampering with evidence. Plus he worked with bombs? Sounds like a suspect to me," Warrick said.

***************************************************************************************************************  


Part 18


	17. 17

Part 18

Greg sat in his wheelchair, peering round the door. Catherine was sitting on the bed, feeding ice chips to her daughter, while Lindsey sat in Grissom's lap, jabbering about what she had been up to.

"Hey," he murmured, the nurse wheeling him in.

Katie's eyes lit up. "Hey."

Lindsey watched the two injured workmates stare at each other. "Are you two gonna kiss or what?"

"Ookay, honey, how about we go get you something to eat," Catherine suggested, taking her hand.

"I need to go meet Brass," Grissom said. He kissed his daughter on her head. "We'll be back later."

Katie watched Catherine corral Lindsey out of the room, closely followed by her father. "So, I hear you're my knight in shining armour."

Greg blushed slightly and wheeled himself over beside her bed. "Hey, I'm just glad you're okay. I'm no hero. I just wasn't about to leave you in there."  


"I'm glad to hear it," Katie smiled. She sobered for a moment. "How bad are you hurt?"

Greg shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle."

She frowned at him. "Quit the macho man act."

He sighed. "I got burns, okay? But I'll be fine. I was more worried about you." Greg leaned over. "Can I kiss you?"

Katie closed her mouth and shook her head. Greg frowned.

"Why not?"

"Haven't brushed my teeth," Katie gritted out.

"Don't care," Greg replied, leaning over and kissing her.

**************************************************************************************************************

Sara walked over to where Jim, Nick and Warrick were talking to Barry Leeward. 

"Guys, we have a problem."

"What?" Nick asked.

Sara pointed to where Grissom was getting out of his car.

Warrick groaned. "What's he doing here?"  


"Being a father," Jim replied grimly. He turned to the two officers with him. "Keep an eye on our friend Mr Leeward, would you?" With the three CSI's following him, he went over to pre-empt Gil from coming to visit Mr Leeward.

"Is that him?" Gil asked, fury and rage in his eyes as he pointed at Barry Leeward.

"We're just making inquiries," Jim told him.  


"Don't feed me that bullshit, Brass. You wouldn't bother coming all the way out here unless you thought he was involved."

"Grissom, why don't you go back to the hospital and be with your family," Sara suggested.

"I want to talk to him," Gil said.

"No you don't, you want to punch his lights out," Warrick replied. "Not that I blame you, but now's not the time or place."

"I'll drive," Nick said, taking Gil's keys. "Lets go back to the hospital."

***************************************************************************************************************

Gil and Nick walked down the hallway to Katie's room when a nurse stopped Gil.

"Mr Grissom?"

"Yes?" he asked, worry setting in.

"Your wife forgot her pre natal vitamins. I think she was in a hurry to get back to her daughter."  


Gil's eyes widened as the nurse handed the tablets over. Nick slapped him on the back.

"Griss congratulations you sly man! You didn't let on."

Gil looked at the tablets. "I didn't know."

****************************************************************************************************

Catherine, Lindsey and Katie were talking about the shopping trips they were going to go on as soon as Katie was well enough, when Gil and Nick entered the room.

"Hey. Greg had to go back to his room for awhile to get some rest," Catherine smiled. Her smile faded when she saw the look on her husband's face. "Gil? Are you okay?"

"I need to talk to you," he ground out. "Alone."

Katie looked concerned but Nick took Catherine's seat and began chatting to her and Lindsey about something else. Catherine followed Gil down the hall to the waiting area for surgery patients. They were lucky it was empty.

"What's the matter?" she asked him. Her eyes widened as he tossed the bottle of prenatal vitamins to her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "We haven't even been married a week and already you're keeping secrets from me. You told me that the reason you passed out was because you weren't feeling well."

"That was the truth," Cath replied. "I wasn't feeling well. I have morning sickness."

"You lied to me," Gil told her. "How could you not tell me you were pregnant!?"

"I did not lie to you. I said I wasn't feeling well and that was the truth." Her eyes darkened. "And you want to know why I didn't tell you I was pregnant? Well here's the plain and simple truth Gil Grissom. I screwed up! Once again, I screwed up!"

"What the hell are you talking about Catherine? What did you screw up? You told me that you wanted to have a baby with me. Have you suddenly changed your mind?"  


"Of course not," she said, through gritted teeth.

"Then I don't understand why you didn't tell me!"

"Look at where we are, Gil! We didn't just end up here! Our daughter almost got killed and I wasn't there to look after her!"

"Catherine, you haven't moved from inside of her room unless you've been forced! No one has been there more for her than you! And I don't understand what you being pregnant has to do with the bombing at CSI!"

"Have you even noticed what I've done to that kid!? I mean, apart from abandoning her, now I run off and get pregnant while she's almost killed!"

"You know, it wasn't just you that got pregnant. I do remember being there. I helped."

"You were not the one that should have thought about birth control."

Gil groaned. "What birth control? We were trying for a baby, Catherine!"

Catherine made an exasperated noise. "Man! What do I have to say to get this through to you?"

"Something that makes a hell of a lot more sense than what you're saying now!"

She flopped down in the closest chair and put her head in her hands. "I'm scared, okay?"

He knelt down in front of her. "Scared of what?"

"Of this," she said, gesturing to her stomach. "Of us. Of everything."

Gil moved her hands away from her face, so she looked at him. "I thought you wanted this. To be married to me. To have another baby together."

"I did! I do!" Catherine told him. "That doesn't mean I'm not terrified." She sighed. "I can't help but feel if I took better care of Katie, that she wouldn't be here. If I had taken better care of Lindsey, she wouldn't carry all the scars from my relationship with Eddie." She held a hand to his face. "If I had been honest with you earlier, we wouldn't have had such a hard time telling each other how we felt. And now I worry about having another baby. What if his or her life is ruined by me?"

Gil smiled at her. "Cath, you've done nothing but make people's lives better. Look at how great Katie is. She's beautiful, and smart and funny. And she's safe, Catherine. She's safe. And Lindsey, Lindsey is perfect. She's just as strong and amazing as her mother is. And I know how proud she is of you for everything that you've done in your life." He kissed the palm of her hand. "And as for me, you've made my life better. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if you hadn't come into it. And I don't care how long it took us to be together. All I care about is that we're together now, and we're going to be together for a very, very long time." He took both her hands in his. "I love you, Catherine Grissom. I love you more than anything in the world. And this baby," he put her hand on her stomach, "this baby is going to be just as amazing and special as our two girls. And he or she will be so lucky to have you in its life."

Catherine kissed him gently. "I'm so lucky to have YOU in my life."  
***************************************************************************************************************  


Part 19


	18. 18

Part 19

Gil stood silently behind the screen in the interview room. He wanted more than anything to be in there with Sara, Warrick and Jim, but he knew they'd kill him if he went in.

"I told you already! I don't know what you're talking about!" Barry cried.

"Come on, Barry. Don't you think it's a little suspicious that you're fitting every possible criteria at the moment, AND that your fingerprint was on the trigger?" Warrick asked him.

"To make it simpler for you," Brass said, "we've got you, so you might as well confess."  


Gil wanted to go in there, and his fists were clenched at his side. He could tell they were turning white from the pressure he was exerting.

"Calm down," the quiet voice of his wife came. "I learned a long time ago that we can't be in there."  


"He almost killed our daughter," Gil growled. "Not to mention actually killing two people who worked here."

Her hand slipped into his. "I know, Gil." She pulled it up and pressed a kiss to it. "I know."  
**************************************************************************************************************

3 Days Later

  
"I wish you were going home too," Greg said, sitting beside Katie's bed.

Katie smiled at him. "So do I, you have no idea. But it's good that someone's getting out of here."  


"I think your parents wish it was you too," Greg commented.

Katie nodded. "I know. But I'll be out of here soon. At least they've got that Leeward guy in custody."  


Greg smirked. "I heard your dad wanted to deck him."  


Katie raised an eyebrow. "And that surprised you?"  


Greg chuckled. "True." He watched her for a moment and became quite sombre. "When you get out of here, and you're up to it, I want to…"

"Hey Greg, I thought you'd already left," Catherine said, coming into the room.

Katie let out a groan of frustration.

"Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" Catherine asked, rushing over.

"Nowhere," Katie said. She turned to talk to Greg but he was edging towards the door.

"I'll call you later?" he asked.

Katie nodded and watched him leave.

"I interrupted something, didn't I?" Catherine said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

She sighed. "I don't know." Her eyes turned back to Catherine. "Where's Dad?"  


"Down with Jim at the LVMPD."

"Is that a good idea?"

Catherine smiled. "I think everyone will keep him under control." She glanced at the door and then back at her daughter. "Are you sure I didn't interrupt anything?"  


Katie nodded. "Positive."  
*****************************************************************************************************

"Mom, you don't have to fuss," Katie said, rolling her eyes, as Catherine hovered around her daughter. "The hospital wouldn't have released me if they didn't think I was okay."  


"Didn't you say you had something important to tell us?" Lindsey asked, as they went inside.

Catherine nodded. "But let's get Katie settled first."

Katie sent her mother a look. "I'm settled."

"You sure you're comfortable? Do you need anything else?"

"I don't think I've ever looked forward to school as much as I do at this moment," Lindsey said, edging away from her mother. "She's gone all weird."  


"Who's she? The cat's mother?" Catherine asked.

"Well, you would be, if we had a cat," Lindsey replied.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Let's all sit down."  


Lindsey's eyes went wide. "Did someone die?"

"No!" Catherine said quickly, taking a seat beside Gil. 

Lindsey hopped up next to Katie on the lounge sofa.

"Okay, then what is it?" Katie asked.

"I'm going to have a baby," Catherine smiled, Gil's hand squeezing hers.

"Really?" Katie smiled. "That's fantastic. Congratulations." She nudged Lindsey. "Isn't it great?"

"I don't know yet," Lindsey replied, getting up and quietly going to her room.

Catherine's eyes were wide and she looked first at Katie, and then at Gil. "I better go talk to her."  
*******************************************************************************************

"Lindsey?" Catherine asked, knocking before she entered the room. When she walked in, she found Lindsey sitting on her bed, hugging her stuffed beetle. "Want to talk about it?"

Lindsey shrugged and Catherine sat down on the bed.

"Lindsey, I want you to be honest with me. That's all I've ever wanted."  


"Don't you like me?" Lindsey asked.

Catherine looked shocked. "Lindsey, I love you. You're my daughter. I love you very, very much."

"Then why do you want another baby? Why did you want Katie back?"  


"I thought you liked having a big sister?"

"I do. But…why do you want to have another baby? Don't you like me anymore?"  


"Of course I like you! Lindsey, I love you!" Catherine said, pulling her close. She sighed. "Lindsey, remember when you and I discussed sex, and we talked about how not only could you make a baby, but it was a way of expressing your love for someone else?"  


Lindsey wrinkled her nose. "Yeah."  


"Well, in a way, that's what having a baby is about too. It's very, very special."

"What if it doesn't like me?"  


"What?"  


"The new baby!"  


Catherine chuckled and pulled her daughter close. "I promise the new baby will like you."  
*****************************************************************************


	19. 19

Part 20

Catherine dropped her keys onto the foyer table and shrugged her jacket off. She wandered into the loungeroom, and smiled when she saw her husband.

"Hey," she said, wandering over and sitting on his lap. "Miss me?"

Gil hugged her to him. "Always. How was the shopping mall?"  


"Exhausting." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Where are the kids?"

"Lindsey is at a sleepover. Katie said she had to go out somewhere and she didn't know when she'd be back."

Catherine widened her eyes. "And that doesn't worry you?"

"Huh?"

Catherine whacked his shoulder. "What happens if she gets hurt again? What if one of her wounds gets infected? How are we going to find her? How can we look after her if we don't know where she is!?"

"She has a cell, Catherine. And she is eighteen years old," Gil reminded her. "And she wasn't really going to let me say no."

Catherine sighed. "I know. It's just…"

"I know you want to protect her, Cath. But we have to let her grow up."  


Catherine looked at him. "Don't you get it, Gil? She's already grown up. And looking after her…"

"Is the last hold on her? You don't really believe that. She loves you, and wants to spend time with you." He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry." His hand rested on her abdomen. "How's our baby?"

"Still there," Catherine smiled, kissing him. "So, we have the whole house to ourselves?"

Gil nodded.

"Hmm. What are we going to do with ourselves?"  
************************************

"I think we should call Jim," Catherine said, pacing up and down.

Gil looked at the clock. "I'm starting to agree with you."

"Starting? Gil, it's three in the morning! Where the hell is she?"

Just as Gil went to get the phone, they heard the door shut and Katie hanging up her jacket. When she walked into the lounge and saw her parents, she paled.

"Uh oh."

"That's right, uh oh! Where the hell have you been?" Catherine cried.

"I can explain."

"Good, let's hear it," Gil growled.

"I was with Greg."

"Doing?"

Katie folded her arms. "Talking. We both went through a lot and we just wanted to talk and be close to someone. So we talked and watched a movie. I lost track of time."

"Just next time, call and tell us where you are," Gil told her. "We were worried."  


Katie nodded. "Okay. Night."

Catherine watched suspiciously as her daughter closed her bedroom door behind her. 

"What?" Gil asked.

Catherine debated on telling him her suspicions, but decided against it. If she were wrong, Gil would kill Greg. If she were right, Gil would still kill Greg. "Nothing. I'm just tired. Let's get to bed."

************************************

Catherine watched her daughter gingerly put on the shirt in her room, being careful of the bruises that still littered her body.

"Let me help you with that," she murmured, helping Katie ease her arms into the shirt.

"Thanks," Katie replied gratefully.

"So, what movie did you watch with Greg?"

"Moulin Rouge."  


"It wasn't on TV last night."  


"He got it out on DVD." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay? You seem a little…off."  


Catherine sat on the bed. "I know."  


"Know what?"  


"About you and Greg."  


Katie was silent for a moment. "So does everyone else. We're dating."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it."  


Katie bit her lip and sat down next to her on the bed. "Ah." She stared at her hands. "Does Dad know?"

"I think he prefers to think that when it comes to his daughters, sex does not exist." Catherine sighed. "I however, know better. And believe it or not, I actually was in the same situation myself once."  


"This is so embarrassing."  


Catherine raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Talking about sex with your parents. It's embarrassing."  


Catherine smiled wryly. "I used to take my clothes off for a living. It takes a lot to make me blush."  


Katie started to smile, but quickly sobered. 

"Just don't hide from us, okay? You're my daughter and I love you. I don't want you to lie to me."

"Okay."

"So, was it good?"

"MOM!"

Catherine chuckled. "I'm just kidding." She hugged her daughter. "If you ever need or want to talk, I'm here."

***********************************************************

Catherine stood in front of the mirror in Gil's office and lifted her shirt a bit, smiling at the tiny bump that had started forming.

"You're beautiful."

She jumped and turned to see her husband leaning in the doorway, a seductive smile on his face.

"You startled me."

Gil closed the door behind him and walked over to her, taking her in his arms. "I love you, Cath."  


She kissed him lightly. "Love you back."

There came a knock at the door and the couple reluctantly pulled apart. Gil opened the door.

"Hey Warrick."  


"I hope I didn't interrupt anything…"

"Go ahead," Catherine smiled, sitting on the sofa.

"We were just talking to Barry Leeward…again. He admits to making the bomb and planting it in CSI, but said he did it under orders."  


Catherine stood up again. "You mean there's someone else out there trying to kill Katie?"

Warrick sighed. "That's the problem. We told Barry about Katie and he says he doesn't know who she is. He had a different target."

"Who?" Gil asked.

"He said that the target was Catherine."

"I want to talk to him. Now," Gil ordered.

**********************************************************

Barry Leeward drummed his fingers on the table, sitting next to his lawyer, with Brass across from them. Catherine stood beside her husband as they looked through the mirror.

"I will never let anyone hurt you, Catherine," Gil murmured. "Especially not this idiot."  


Catherine's eyes closed briefly. "I know that. I know you wouldn't." She was silent and Gil turned to her.

"This does not mean what happened to Katie was your fault."  


She looked up at him. "Where did you get the idea that I was thinking about that?" She paused. "Not that I was."  


He turned her to look at him. "It wasn't your fault, Cath. Don't think that."

Gil leant in to kiss her and then Warrick came in.

"I'm having really bad timing today," Warrick mumbled.

"Sorry," Catherine said, stepping back. "I better go and check on some results." She squeezed Gil's hand and left.  


"I'm really sorry, Griss," Warrick said. "I honestly didn't know you two would be having a private moment."  


"It's okay. I'm just a little worried about her. When Katie was in hospital, she kept saying how it was all her fault. I stopped her thinking it, but now I think she's back there again." He sighed. "Let's talk to Leeward."

********************************

"I was just doing what I was told, yeah? That's it," Barry replied.

"You were told to bomb the CSI headquarters, kill a man and almost kill hundreds?" Brass asked, blinking.

"Yeah. Paid to do it actually."

Gil's ears pricked up. "By who?"

Barry shrugged. "I don't know his name. Just told me to get Willows out of the way, because it was the best way to get to Braun."

Gil froze. "Sam Braun?"  


"Yep. He was the dude my guy didn't like. So…what do I get for helping ya?"

****************************************


	20. 20

Part 20 

Catherine dropped her keys onto the foyer table and shrugged her jacket off. She wandered into the loungeroom, and smiled when she saw her husband.

"Hey," she said, wandering over and sitting on his lap. "Miss me?"

Gil hugged her to him. "Always. How was the shopping mall?"

"Exhausting." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Where are the kids?"

"Lindsey is at a sleepover. Katie said she had to go out somewhere and she didn't know when she'd be back."

Catherine widened her eyes. "And that doesn't worry you?"

"Huh?"

Catherine whacked his shoulder. "What happens if she gets hurt again? What if one of her wounds gets infected? How are we going to find her? How can we look after her if we don't know where she is!?"

"She has a cell, Catherine. And she is eighteen years old," Gil reminded her. "And she wasn't really going to let me say no."

Catherine sighed. "I know. It's just…"

"I know you want to protect her, Cath. But we have to let her grow up."

Catherine looked at him. "Don't you get it, Gil? She's already grown up. And looking after her…"

"Is the last hold on her? You don't really believe that. She loves you, and wants to spend time with you." He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry." His hand rested on her abdomen. "How's our baby?"

"Still there," Catherine smiled, kissing him. "So, we have the whole house to ourselves?"

Gil nodded.

"Hmm. What are we going to do with ourselves?"

* * *

"I think we should call Jim," Catherine said, pacing up and down.

Gil looked at the clock. "I'm starting to agree with you."

"Starting? Gil, it's three in the morning! Where the hell is she?"

Just as Gil went to get the phone, they heard the door shut and Katie hanging up her jacket. When she walked into the lounge and saw her parents, she paled.

"Uh oh."

"That's right, uh oh! Where the hell have you been?" Catherine cried.

"I can explain."

"Good, let's hear it," Gil growled.

"I was with Greg."

"Doing?"

Katie folded her arms. "Talking. We both went through a lot and we just wanted to talk and be close to someone. So we talked and watched a movie. I lost track of time."

"Just next time, call and tell us where you are," Gil told her. "We were worried."

Katie nodded. "Okay. Night."

Catherine watched suspiciously as her daughter closed her bedroom door behind her.

"What?" Gil asked.

Catherine debated on telling him her suspicions, but decided against it. If she were wrong, Gil would kill Greg. If she were right, Gil would still kill Greg. "Nothing. I'm just tired. Let's get to bed."

* * *

Catherine watched her daughter gingerly put on the shirt in her room, being careful of the bruises that still littered her body.

"Let me help you with that," she murmured, helping Katie ease her arms into the shirt.

"Thanks," Katie replied gratefully.

"So, what movie did you watch with Greg?"

"Moulin Rouge."

"It wasn't on TV last night."

"He got it out on DVD." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay? You seem a little…off."

Catherine sat on the bed. "I know."

"Know what?"

"About you and Greg."

Katie was silent for a moment. "So does everyone else. We're dating."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it."

Katie bit her lip and sat down next to her on the bed. "Ah." She stared at her hands. "Does Dad know?"

"I think he prefers to think that when it comes to his daughters, sex does not exist." Catherine sighed. "I however, know better. And believe it or not, I actually was in the same situation myself once."

"This is so embarrassing."

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Talking about sex with your parents. It's embarrassing."

Catherine smiled wryly. "I used to take my clothes off for a living. It takes a lot to make me blush."

Katie started to smile, but quickly sobered.

"Just don't hide from us, okay? You're my daughter and I love you. I don't want you to lie to me."

"Okay."

"So, was it good?"

"MOM!"

Catherine chuckled. "I'm just kidding." She hugged her daughter. "If you ever need or want to talk, I'm here."

* * *

Catherine stood in front of the mirror in Gil's office and lifted her shirt a bit, smiling at the tiny bump that had started forming.

"You're beautiful."

She jumped and turned to see her husband leaning in the doorway, a seductive smile on his face.

"You startled me."

Gil closed the door behind him and walked over to her, taking her in his arms. "I love you, Cath."

She kissed him lightly. "Love you back."

There came a knock at the door and the couple reluctantly pulled apart. Gil opened the door.

"Hey Warrick."

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything…"

"Go ahead," Catherine smiled, sitting on the sofa.

"We were just talking to Barry Leeward…again. He admits to making the bomb and planting it in CSI, but said he did it under orders."

Catherine stood up again. "You mean there's someone else out there trying to kill Katie?"

Warrick sighed. "That's the problem. We told Barry about Katie and he says he doesn't know who she is. He had a different target."

"Who?" Gil asked.

"He said that the target was Catherine."

"I want to talk to him. Now," Gil ordered.

* * *

Barry Leeward drummed his fingers on the table, sitting next to his lawyer, with Brass across from them. Catherine stood beside her husband as they looked through the mirror.

"I will never let anyone hurt you, Catherine," Gil murmured. "Especially not this idiot."

Catherine's eyes closed briefly. "I know that. I know you wouldn't." She was silent and Gil turned to her.

"This does not mean what happened to Katie was your fault."

She looked up at him. "Where did you get the idea that I was thinking about that?" She paused. "Not that I was."

He turned her to look at him. "It wasn't your fault, Cath. Don't think that."

Gil leant in to kiss her and then Warrick came in.

"I'm having really bad timing today," Warrick mumbled.

"Sorry," Catherine said, stepping back. "I better go and check on some results." She squeezed Gil's hand and left.

"I'm really sorry, Griss," Warrick said. "I honestly didn't know you two would be having a private moment."

"It's okay. I'm just a little worried about her. When Katie was in hospital, she kept saying how it was all her fault. I stopped her thinking it, but now I think she's back there again." He sighed. "Let's talk to Leeward."

* * *

"I was just doing what I was told, yeah? That's it," Barry replied.

"You were told to bomb the CSI headquarters, kill a man and almost kill hundreds?" Brass asked, blinking.

"Yeah. Paid to do it actually."

Gil's ears pricked up. "By who?"

Barry shrugged. "I don't know his name. Just told me to get Willows out of the way, because it was the best way to get to Braun."

Gil froze. "Sam Braun?"

"Yep. He was the dude my guy didn't like. So…what do I get for helping ya?"


	21. 21

Part 21

Catherine walked into The Rampart, steaming. 

"Ms Willows?"

Catherine turned around. She was so used to being called Mrs Grissom now, that she was always surprised when someone called her 'Ms Willows'. "Yes?"

"Shall I get Mr Braun for you? Or would you like to play the casino? I can get you some chips. Or something to eat, or drink?"

Catherine narrowed her eyes. "Pardon?"

"Mr Braun said that we are to get you whatever you want if you are here," the woman said.

"Is he here?"

The woman nodded. "I'll tell him you're on your way up."

* * *

"Catherine," Sam smiled, as she walked in. "It's so good to see you."

"Let's cut the niceties crap," she growled. "I want you to fix whatever business you're mixed up in so it doesn't involve my family, understand?"

He leant back in his chair. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"The bombing at CSI. I could have lost my daughter. We know who did it, and we're slowly finding out why. So stay the hell away from my family!"

"Is she okay?"

"No thanks to you. Just stay away." Catherine stalked out of his office, refusing to stay there a moment longer.

* * *

Gil looked up as Catherine dropped her keys on the table.

"Where have you been?"

"I wasn't aware I had to catalogue every move I make for you," she bit back. When she saw the hurt look on his face, she sighed and sank down onto the couch. "Gil, I'm sorry. I just…I went to see Sam."

Gil raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I told him to fix his business so that he stayed away from us."

"And what did he say?"

She shrugged. "I didn't give him a chance to say anything. I didn't want to be there."

He took her in his arms, stroking her back gently. "Don't let him get to you, Cath."

"How can I not? He almost got our daughter killed! Not to mention the lab techs that died."

"Brass and I are going to talk to him tomorrow. Leeward didn't give us anything except Braun's name. Not yet, anyway."

"I don't want to talk about him anymore," Catherine said, snuggling closer. "Where are the girls?"

"Apparently they're cooking us dinner. I'm not game to go into the kitchen."

Catherine sniffed the air. "I can't smell anything yet." She scooted up the other side of the couch and beckoned him to her. "Wanna make out?"

Gil crawled over, hovering above her. "I always want to make out with you." He bent down and their lips sealed in a deep kiss.

Catherine sighed in satisfaction and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer into her body.

* * *

"Ew," Lindsey said, coming back into the kitchen.

Katie looked up from where she was stirring the pasta sauce. "What?"

"They're making out. I'm never sitting on that couch again."

"Where did you think the new baby came from?"

Lindsey wrinkled her nose. "I prefer not to think about that."

The doorbell rang and the sisters stared at each other.

"They're never going to notice it," Katie finally said.

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "I'll get it."

* * *

Lindsey opened the door. "I recognise you."

Sam Braun smiled down at her. "I'm glad to hear it. I'm Sam Braun."

"I'm Lindsey," she replied.

"Lindsey, the pasta is almost rea…" Katie came to a halt as she came to the front door. "I've seen you before."

"This is Sam Braun," Lindsey introduced. "This is my sister, Katie."

Sam arched an eyebrow. "Really? Well, an honour to meet you. Is your mother home?"

"They're making out," Lindsey said rolling her eyes.

Katie cleared her throat. "Um, I'll go get them."

"Them?" Sam asked Lindsey.

"Mom and Dad," Lindsey replied, thinking that Mr Braun should really know better.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Catherine asked, stalking out.

Sam noticed Gil behind her, grasping Catherine's hand.

"I didn't like the way we ended things at the office. I wanted to come and talk to you. I didn't know there had been so many changes in your life."

Catherine frowned. "It isn't any of your business."

Katie decided this conversation could be headed in a direction that neither of her parents wanted Lindsey to hear. "We'll keep going with dinner."

"Don't leave on my account," Sam said. "It would be nice to know you, Katie."

"Go continue with dinner," Gil told the girls.

Katie nodded, and taking Lindsey's hand, disappeared out of the room.

"What are you doing here, Sam?" Catherine asked, stalking back into the lounge room.

"Like I said, I didn't like the way things ended at the office. And for that matter, I'm not entirely sure what you were talking about. But perhaps we should rewind a little. It seems things have been going on that I wasn't aware of in your life."

"My life is none of your business," Cath shot back.

"I'm your father."

"That's an insulting thing to say," Catherine replied.

Sam sighed and rubbed his face a little. "Who was that girl with Lindsey?"

"You mean the one you almost got killed?" Catherine leant back into her chair. "She's my daughter. Mine and Gil's."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Catherine replied. "And Gil and I got married, and I'm pregnant. Is there anything more you need to know?"

"Congratulations," Sam said. "But I still don't understand why you were so angry today."

"You almost got my daughter killed!"

Gil squeezed her hand. "We talked to a suspect in the bombing. He said he was hired to bomb the CSI building with Catherine there, in order to get your attention. It seems they mistook Katie for Catherine."

Sam's eyes widened. "Oh god."

"That's why I asked you to fix the business you're doing so that it doesn't involve my family. And just leave us the hell alone!" Catherine cried.

* * *

Katie winced as she heard her mother yell.

"What's going on in there?" Lindsey asked, trying to loosen the grip Katie had on her arm.

"It's none of our business," Katie replied.

"Mom's upset."

"She has every right to be."

Lindsey narrowed her eyes. "What's going on?"

Katie turned back to her. "Nothing. Everything's going to be fine."

* * *

Dinner at the Grissom home that night was unusually silent, each member locked in their own thoughts.

Catherine was worrying about what Sam had done to her family, and about her children, and the baby. She wondered if having a baby was the right thing to do…after all she'd almost gotten her daughter killed. She'd lied when she said she blamed Sam for it. She did blame him to an extent, but she blamed herself more. For not being able to protect her daughter.

Gil worried about his wife. He knew she still blamed herself for what happened at CSI, even though she outwardly blamed Sam Braun. He hoped to God that Barry Leeward was going to roll over, so they could finally find the bastard that almost killed his little girl.

Lindsey was confused. She knew that Sam Braun was someone important, and that her mother obviously knew him well, but she didn't know why her mother was so mad at him.

And Katie was wrestling with her conscience and her desires. And she was busy making a heartbreaking decision that would affect everyone's lives.


	22. 22

Part 22

Catherine sighed as Gil kissed his way down her body, nuzzling her neck.

"I'm so glad that we don't have to get up this morning," she murmured, her hands gently caressing his back.

"Me too," he replied, leaning up and capturing her lips with his.

The kiss was slow and leisurely, but no less passionate.

"You taste good," he commented, making his way back down her body.

"So do…" she arched up as his fingers caressed her intimately. "You," she finally managed to squeeze out. "Gil…stop teasing."

He moved back up her body and grinned. "I will…for now."

* * *

Catherine held him to her as she tried to get her breath back. "Wow. We need to have morning lie-ins more often."

"I definitely agree there," he murmured, kissing her gently.

Just as he was about to move, a tentative knock came at the door.

"Mom?"

Catherine's eyes widened. "Just a minute, Lindsey." She sat up, handing Gil his pajama bottoms and she disappeared into the bathroom.

Gil opened the window and went into the bathroom as Catherine came out and opened the door.

"Hey, baby, is everything alright?"

Lindsey narrowed her eyes. "What were you guys doing?"

"Nothing," Catherine replied, feeling guilty. "Absolutely nothing. We were…uh…talking." She took a deep breath, her body still tingling. "What is it?"

"Where's Katie?"

Catherine frowned. "Isn't she in her room?"

Gil came out of the bathroom.

"No. I checked and all her stuff is gone."

Catherine paled and hotfooted it into Katie's room.

The bed had been stripped and the linen had been neatly folded and placed on the bed. Everything that Gil and Catherine had bought for her and with her was still in its place, but the few paltry items Katie had brought with her when she first arrived where gone. The only memento from her current life that had gone was a picture from a frame. It had been one of the family.

"Oh God," Catherine said. "She's gone."

* * *

Greg stared at his phone and then at the clock. Something weird was going on. He and Katie had been going to go for a drive up to Lake Mead. She said she would meet him at 9. It was 11.30.

When it rang, he almost jumped out of his seat.

"Hello?"

"Greg, where's my daughter?" Gil barked down the phone.

"Grissom?"

"Where is she?"

"I don't know! I thought you were her calling me to tell me why she wasn't here for our date." Greg narrowed his eyes. "What's going on?"

Grissom sighed. "Katie's gone."

"Gone where?"

"I don't know. Her things are gone from the house and her locker at CSI is empty."

"Sir? Grissom? Can I come over please?"

Gil could hear the tremor in Greg's voice. It shocked him. Greg Sanders, the office Casanova had fallen for his daughter. Fallen hard. "Sure, Greg."

* * *

Catherine Grissom was royally pissed off. She stomped into the Tangiers.

"Good morning, Mrs Grissom. What can we do for you today? Slots, drinks? Hotel rooms?"

Catherine glared at the front desk clerk. "I want to see Sam Braun and I want to see him right now."

The woman gulped and nodded. "Certainly, ma'am."

* * *

"Catherine, I hear you scared the hell out of my desk clerk," Sam smiled amiably, as she stalked in his door.

"And now I'm about to scare the hell out of you," Catherine growled.

The smile left Sam's face. "Catherine?" He could see she was shaking. Whether it was with anger or tears, was too difficult to tell. "Catherine, sit down."

"I don't WANT to sit down!" she blasted him. "I want you to tell me what you said to my daughter!"

"What do you mean?"

"She's gone! I woke up this morning and my daughter was gone!" She began to pace. "So naturally, I begin to wonder where she's got to and more importantly, why she's gone. And you know what? The name that keeps coming to mind is yours!"

"Catherine…I swear…"

"But they don't hold any weight with me, Sam! I've been on the receiving end of your promises before, and it hasn't been good." She sighed. "Look, I don't care what you do, but I swear to god, if you did anything to make my baby girl leave me, I will come after you. I don't care how much weight you hold in this town. No one hurts my family."

Sam watched her leave and slam the door. He picked up the phone. "I need to find some information on a Kathryn Grissom. Yes, it's urgent."

* * *

When Catherine arrived home, she found Greg sitting in her lounge room. "Greg? Are you okay?"

He smiled wanly at her. "Grissom said I could come over. I was worried when she didn't turn up for our date. He said that all her stuff is gone and her locker is cleaned out."

Catherine sat down next to him. "Yeah." She glanced at him. "How long ago did you make the date?"

"A couple of weeks ago. Why?"

"Well, if I know my daughter, that means she wasn't planning this from then. She has very strong feelings for you, and I don't think she'd hurt you on purpose."

"You don't think she's hurt, do you?" Greg said, looking worried.

Catherine shook her head. "No. I don't know why she's gone, but I don't think she's hurt."

Grissom walked into the lounge room and smiled when he saw Cath there. "Hey. Where have you been?"

"I just had to check something. Did you call Jim?"

"He can't classify her as a missing person, Cath. You know that."

"I know. I just feel useless."

Greg stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I'm going to go and find her. I'll start at the lab and work my way from there." He waved goodbye and disappeared.

"Mommy?" Lindsey said, wandering into the room. "What's going on?"

"Everything's fine, Lindsey. Katie has just gone on a little trip somewhere."

Lindsey narrowed her eyes. "I'm not stupid, guys. I know she's gone. And I think I know why."

Catherine gripped her daughter by the shoulders. "Where is she, Linds?"

"I don't know," Lindsey said, struggling out of her mother's grasp. "And that hurt!"

Catherine sighed. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm just…I'm just really worried about her."

"Last night, when that man came, and she heard you arguing, she was really upset. And then she said that everything was going to be fine."

Catherine and Gil looked at each other.

"I'll kill him," Catherine finally said, standing up.

Gil gripped her arm. "Catherine…we need to concentrate on finding Katie. Leave Sam for later."

"Fine then. I'll kill him later."

* * *

Katie stared into the fountains outside the Bellagio. She knew her mother liked to come here for some peace and quiet, and just like her mother, Katie found she was drawn to them.

It was better this way. She'd organise something, and then she'd go back to Chicago. She knew her parents now, and she was part of their lives. But the last thing she wanted to do was ruin family relations with her presence. She'd miss them terribly, but it had to be this way.

* * *

"Mr Braun?"

Sam looked up to the woman that stood in the room. "Yes Lara?"

"The information you wanted on Kathryn Grissom, sir." The woman strode over to him and handed him a file. "Mr. Stevens is still looking for her, sir."

Sam nodded and opened the file. "Thanks, Lara."


	23. 23

Sam flipped through the file. It detailed Katie's life, from the moment Catherine had been pregnant, to the moment Katie had turned up in Las Vegas. He was still shocked that Catherine had given her baby up for adoption, but he knew it wasn't his judgement to make. After all, he had never told Catherine that she was his daughter. He'd always suspected though.

It was times like these he regretted not finding out and being there for her. It had hurt him immensely when he found out that not only was Catherine married, but she was pregnant and that she had another child in her life.

Perhaps if he found Katie, she would forgive him.

"Lara?"

"Yes, Mr Braun?"

"Any word from Stevens?"

"No, sir."

Sam frowned. "Get another man out there as well. And tell them to work harder. I want this child found, and I want her found now!"

* * *

Gil glanced over at his wife as she dozed on the lounge chair. When he saw her finally slip into sleep, he took the address book from her hand and set it beside his pile of people to ring.

Grabbing a blanket, he gently tucked it around her, ensuring she'd stay warm as she slept. She needed her sleep, now more than ever. Catherine would probably kill him later for letting her sleep, but he was willing to take that risk.

He rubbed his eyes. They had had no luck in finding their daughter so far. He knew that she had a good head on her shoulders, but he still worried.

"Gil?" Catherine murmured sleepily.

"Shh, baby. Go back to sleep."

"Katie first. Then I can sleep."

Gil sighed. "This stress isn't good for the baby."

"The baby and I will be fine when Katie is back under this roof!"

* * *

Greg yawned as he continued walking around the Strip. He needed to find Katie. It wasn't just for Gil and Cath, although he knew how worried about her they were. It was for him. He had never been like this before. He knew he was known as the office Casanova, and that everyone assumed he went through women like people go through underwear.

But this was different. It wasn't because she was Cath and Gil's daughter; which frankly, terrified him rather than excited him. It was because she was her.

Was he getting soft in his old age? He grinned and shook his head. Nah.

* * *

Sam glared at the three people standing in front of him. "This is not acceptable."

"Mr Braun…"

"You don't get to speak now!" Sam interrupted. "It cannot be that difficult to find an eighteen year-old in Las Vegas!"

"Las Vegas is a big place, Mr Braun."

"I've lived here for twenty years, Mr Stevens. I am well aware of the size of my town." He sat down in his chair. "Now I want that child found by the end of the working day. If not, you will all be feeling the consequences."

* * *

Katie sat outside the Bellagio, next to the fountain. It was becoming a bit of a ritual to come here every day. She liked Las Vegas, and the people she had met. But she was beginning to wonder if she should move back to Chicago.

If she was in Chicago, Catherine could go back to having a relationship with her father, instead of sacrificing it for Katie.

But then again, what was left for her in Chicago? A big fat nothing. Here she might have the chance to get a job. Here she had her family. Here she had Greg.

Greg. It hurt her so much that she had stood him up. She hated herself for it. She sighed. Then again, he probably hated her for it too.

* * *

Mr Stevens, Sam Braun's number one henchman, stood in front of the Bellagio and noticed the girl. He stared at the picture in his hand and then at the girl again. He picked up his cell and dialled Sam.

"Mr Braun. I've found her…" Stevens watched as a young man walked up to Katie. "And there's some kid walking up to her…"


	24. 24

  
Part 24  
  
"Remember me?"  
  
Katie's eyes widened and she froze for a second. After a moment she slowly turned around and blue eyes connected with blue eyes as she stared at Greg Sanders.  
  
"What are you doing here?" "That's funny. I was going to ask you the same question." Katie turned back to look at the fountain. "I had to leave." "Yeah, I noticed that you left. So did Grissom and Catherine, who are both going insane trying to find you." "Tell them not to bother." Greg gripped her shoulder, making her face him. "Why? What the hell happened to you? You scared the hell out of everyone!" "I couldn't rip apart their family." Greg sat down beside her. "What are you talking about?" "Mom and Sam Braun. I saw the way they were arguing about me. I don't want to be the one to ruin that relationship." "What relationship?" Greg asked. "Catherine and Sam Braun hate each other's guts! Maybe Sam not so much Catherine, but she hates him! For everything Sam did to her mother and to her!" Katie's eyes widened. "What?" 

"Sam and Catherine haven't had a good relationship for a long time. Not since she found out he was her father and a murderer. Or a suspected murderer." Greg ran a hand over his face. "Jesus, Katie. We've all been up overtime looking for you! I can't tell you how scared everyone's been."

"You're serious about Sam Braun and Mom?"

"Why the hell would I lie? I've been up 24 hours straight looking for you! Your parents are going out of their minds with worry!" He grabbed his cell. "I better call them and let them know I found you." He paused before he dialled the number. "Wait." "What? Not ready to take me home like a little girl who missed her curfew?" Katie asked, eerily acting like a pissed off Catherine Grissom. 

"No, not yet," Greg answered. He cupped her face in his hands. "Don't ever scare me like that again." His lips descended on hers in a deep kiss, pulling her close to him.

* * *

"Catherine," Gil said, shaking her awake. She had fallen asleep on top of the phone book. "What? Dammit, Gil, I told you not to let me go to sleep again!" "Never mind that. Greg's found her." "What? Where is she? Is he bringing her home?" Gil nodded. "Yeah. He says she was outside the Bellagio, sitting outside the fountain." He caressed her cheek. "Just like you do when you're stressed." "Is she okay? She's not hurt?" 

Gil smiled. "She's fine. Greg's bringing her home."

* * *

Greg pulled up in the Grissom driveway, and stared at Katie. "You okay?" "She's not going to be happy." "Do you blame them?" Greg sighed. "Sorry. That was unfair." Katie smiled at him. "No, it wasn't. And no, I don't blame them." She leaned across and kissed him gently. "Thanks for talking some sense into me." He grinned at her. "Anytime." "We'll reschedule our trip, yeah?" Greg nodded. "No problem." He squeezed her hand. "Want me to come in with you?" "Normally, I'd say yes. But…I think mom is going to be pissed." "Okay…so you want a human shield?" His hand still gripped on hers. Katie smiled. She had a feeling he wasn't ready to let go of her…and to be frank, she didn't want to let go of him either. "Call me tonight?" "You'll be there?" Katie nodded and kissed him again. "I promise." Before she could get out, Greg hugged her fiercely. He pulled back, blushing slightly. "You better go before your parents find me making out with you." 

Katie chuckled. "Bye, Greg."

* * *

Katie reached above the door for the key that was always kept their for emergencies. She had just inserted it into the lock when the door flung open and Gil Grissom had enfolded her in his arms. "Dad…can't breathe…please…" Gil released his grip and put her at arms length. "Don't you ever…ever do that to me and your mother again, understand? I don't care what the reason was, or what you thought you had to do. You're in our lives now and you can't just walk out of it and pretend there's nothing wrong! You scared your mother to death!" "I know, and I'm sorry." She hugged her father. "I'm really sorry." Gil held her in his arms for a moment, feeling his world slowly start to become normal again. "Where's mom?" "In the lounge." Before his daughter could go in, he grabbed her wrist. "Katie…she's really, really pissed. Not that I blame her but…just be aware okay?" Katie nodded. "Okay." She walked into the lounge room and saw her mother sitting on the couch. Her heart broke as she saw how tired and worn out her mother looked…and that she was at fault. "Mom?" Catherine turned around and stood up. "First of all, let me just say how glad I am that you're okay. Then, I'm going to start telling you how much trouble you're in." Katie gulped. Perhaps she should have let Greg come in as a human shield. "Do you have any idea how terrified you've made everyone? I mean lets forget your father and me for a moment, but don't think I won't come back to that. Lindsey thought she lost her big sister. Greg thought you stood him up and he has been scouring the city for you. Brass has put an APB out on you and the rest of the CSI team has also been looking!" "I'm sorry. I…" "I'm not finished yet," Catherine told her. "Then there's your father and I. Jesus, Katie! I've never been more scared in my life! What the hell were you thinking!?" "I saw you and Sam Braun fighting. I knew he was your father and I knew you were fighting because of me. I didn't want my presence to ruin your father/daughter relationship." "WHAT relationship?" "Well, I know that now. But I didn't then." Katie shrugged. "I don't know what else I can say." Catherine walked over and pulled her into a hug. "If you ever do that to me again…just don't ever do that to me again. You understand?" "I won't, I promise." Catherine kissed the top of Katie's head."I lost you once before. I'll be damned if I lose you again." "Love you, mom." "I love you too, baby." 


	25. 25

Part 25 

"What are you doing?" Catherine asked, as Gil steered her away from the grocery store. "We're supposed to be getting food, remember? For the hungry and pregnant woman?"

"We'll get food later," Gil said.

Catherine tugged on his hand. "Gil. For a pregnant woman, there is no such thing as later. Don't make me beg or hurt you."

Gil stared at her. "But…"

"Gil…"

"Fine, we'll get food first. But then can we go to my store?"

Catherine narrowed her eyes. "What is your store?"

Gil pointed across to a "Babies R Us" store.

She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. "You're cute."

Gil frowned slightly. "I prefer macho or manly."

"Right. Sorry." Catherine kissed him on the cheek. "My macho manly stud."

"That's certainly an improvement," Gil agreed. He found them a table in the food court and sat her down. "I'll go order us something, okay?"

"Lots of something," Catherine reminded him.

Gil rolled his eyes. "Yes, dear."

* * *

Gil almost dropped Catherine's lunch in front of her as he tried to balance everything.

"I don't know how you can eat like this and still stay so thin!" he told her, sitting down.

"Good genes," she winked. "Besides, I'm only in my fourth month. When I REALLY start showing, then you'll be wondering what happened to my good genes."

"You'll be beautiful," Gil replied. "I can't wait to see you…"

Catherine arched an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Carrying our child," Gil said, quickly taking a bite of his sandwich.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "That was such a cop out." She twirled some pasta on a fork and held it out to Gil. "Try this."

"Some of us have to watch our figure, dear," Gil said, patting his stomach.

Catherine let out a snort of laughter. "Oh, please." She held out the fork until he took a bite. With a smirk, she slid her chair around the table and sat next to him. Her hand rested on his stomach and then she kissed him gently. "You're the sexiest guy I know."

Gil smiled bashfully. "Really?"

She nodded and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "If we weren't in a public place I'd jump your bones."

Gil's eyes widened considerably and he almost choked on his sandwich. When he finally swallowed it, he turned to her. "Wanna go home?"

Catherine threw her head back and burst into laughter. "You're such a man, Gil." She kissed his cheek. "I wanna go shopping and look at baby things with my husband." She whispered in his ear again. "But maybe later."

* * *

Katie and Lindsey looked up from where they were watching their movie. Cath and Gil raced inside and had both sequestered themselves in the two different bathrooms.

"Do you find that weird?" Katie asked her sister.

Lindsey shrugged. "No weirder than usual."

"STOP COPYING ME GIL GRISSOM!" came the cry from the bathroom.

"I'M NOT DOING IT ON PURPOSE!" came the cry from the other room.

"That was just gross on so many levels," Lindsey said, wrinkling her nose.

"Agreed," Katie nodded, a look of disgust on her face. "Hey guys! We don't need to hear about your bathroom adventures!"

They heard the taps running in the two bathrooms and then Catherine and Grissom appeared.

"Your father has lost his mind," Catherine explained, glaring at her husband.

Gil held his hands up in surrender. "It's not my fault! I swear!"

"What's not his fault?" Katie asked.

"He thinks he's having sympathy pregnancy symptoms," Catherine said, disbelief in her eyes.

"I don't think," Gil replied. "I know. I have a PhD, Catherine. I KNOW these things."

"So you've got a PhD," Catherine groaned. "Big deal! You've still lost your mind!"

"Actually, I've read that it can happen," Katie said, shrugging.

Catherine sent her daughter a look.

"On second thought, what do I know?" Katie mumbled, shrinking back down into the seat.

"You need to snap out of it," Catherine ordered her husband. "Thinking you have food cravings is fine, but when it comes to needing to pee when I need to pee, it's getting a little creepy!"

"Do you mind moving this discussion elsewhere?" Katie asked, her face scrunching up.

Their parents stared at them.

"Or we could move," Lindsey suggested, scampering out of the room.

* * *

"Okay, where are we going?" Katie asked Greg, as he grinned, opening the car door for her.

"Can't tell," he replied.

"Greg, you told me to dress up nice on our only night off together. And now you're opening car doors for me. What's going on?"

"We're going out to dinner."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I gathered that. Where?"

"Not telling," he answered.

"You're being really annoying and stubborn."  
  
"You're beautiful." 

Katie froze and stared at him. He just smiled at her and kept driving.

"Thank you," she finally managed to get out.

Greg reached his hand over and took hers. "You're welcome."

* * *

"I feel like we're the only ones here," Gil said, as Catherine came into his office.

"That's because neither Katie or Greg are here," Catherine reminded him. "And Warrick, Nicky and Sara are all out in the field."

"So technically, I could make you scream and no one would hear?" Gil wondered.

Catherine arched her eyebrow. "I don't think so, hon. There are lab techs in this building."

"Damn," Gil grumbled.

Catherine giggled. "But if it makes you feel better, when we get home, you can pretend I'm the poor innocent lab tech and you're the big bossy supervisor."

"I'm not bossy!" Gil protested.

"Totally missing the point," Catherine reminded him.

"Oh no, I got that loud and clear," he assured her.

* * *

Katie's eyes widened when Greg pulled into the driveway for the Caesar's Palace. "You're bringing me to Caesar's Palace?"

"Au contraire, my dear," Greg replied. "I'm taking you to the Empress Court."

"The Empress Court?"

"I did bring Katie, and not the parrot, didn't I?"

Katie glared at him. "Don't spoil it."

Greg grinned and gave the valet the keys to the car. He walked around and took her hand. "Shall we?"

Katie squeezed his hand. "Lead the way."

* * *

"You taste good," Catherine murmured against his lips. "You know what stage of pregnancy I'm at?"

"Tell me," Gil replied, kissing her again.

Catherine whispered in his ear and Gil smirked.

"Sounds like you need some help there then."

"It's incredibly urgent."

Gil moved forward and kissed her deeply. She moaned slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

* * *

"You certainly outdid yourself tonight, Sanders," Katie smiled at him.

Greg grinned. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Good food, good company. How could I not?" Katie replied.

"The pleasure was all mine," Greg answered.

"Shall we head back to your place next?" Katie asked, a sly smile on her face.

Greg's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

Katie nodded. "We've got the night off. Let's enjoy it."

* * *

Nick wandered into Gil's office and immediately turned around, coughing slowly. "Guys, if you're going to do that, can you at least lock the door first?"

Catherine turned around in Gil's lap. "We were just kissing, Nicky. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

"I thought that was what Gil was attempting to do to you," Nick coughed.

Catherine shot him a dirty look.

"Sorry," Nick said.

"Did you come here with something in mind apart from ogling my wife?" Gil asked.

Nick blushed and started to stammer. "I wasn't…I mean I didn't…I mean…"

"You mean you don't think my wife is attractive enough to ogle?" Gil asked, cocking his head to one side.

Catherine pretended to pout.

"Geez, I meant that…oh man." Nick fumbled.

"Relax Nicky, we're just teasing you," Catherine chuckled.

"I wasn't," Gil said, attempting to keep a straight face.

"Gil," Catherine said, whacking him on the shoulder. She turned to Nick. "What is it, Nick?"

"I just got a call from Sara and Warrick. We're going to need all hands on deck. Major traffic accident out on the highway."

Catherine sighed. "There goes Greg and Katie's date."

Gil nodded. "I'll call them."

* * *

Katie snuggled closer to Greg, groaning as the phone rang. "I'll get it. You're still half comatose."

"I am not!" Greg protested, wrestling her for the phone.

"You can't have it! You'll have to drag me further down for that!" Katie teased. "Hello?" She listened to the voice on the other end of the phone for a minute, then scrambled off Greg's lap. "Yes, dad. Sorry. Yes, I'll be there." She hung up the phone and stared at Greg, who was wide-eyed.

"Busted," Katie mumbled.

TBC


	26. 26

Part 26 

Catherine watched as Gil paced back and forth in his office. She knew all hell was going to be raised the minute either Greg or Katie entered the labs.

"Gil…"

"My daughter…was at Greg's…in his bed…"

"Yes, dear."

"I don't think they were sleeping."

"I don't think so either."

"She's a child."

Catherine tried not to laugh. "Gil, she's not a little girl anymore."

Gil turned to his wife. "That's not the point! She's too young to be…too young to be…"

"Having sex?" Catherine supplied.

"Exactly."

"She might disagree with you," Catherine murmured.

"I don't care. I am her father."

Catherine smirked at him.

"You think this is funny?"

"Not at all." Catherine walked over to her husband. "You're a wonderful father, Gil. But we have to let her make her own decisions. At least she's taking precautions…" Catherine trailed off, realising that Gil didn't know she had known.

Gil's eyes widened. "You knew?"

"I guessed."

"And you didn't tell me?"

Catherine paused. "It's…I knew how you'd react."

"And how is that?"

Catherine arched an eyebrow at her husband, who stood there glaring at her, with his arms folded. "Like this."

Gil quickly unfolded his arms. "Catherine…"

"She's eighteen years old, Gil. She's not a baby anymore." Catherine sighed. "As much as I'd like her to be, she's not."

"That's not the point."

"It IS the point, Gil," Catherine reminded him. "She's eighteen years old."

Gil grumbled to himself. "It doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. And Greg Sanders of all people!"

* * *

Jacqui watched with a raised eyebrow as Greg stealthily moved around the labs like James Bond."Greg?" 

The young man almost jumped out of his skin, before turning around and realising it had been Jacqui. "Oh. It's only you."

"I'm going to ignore that. " Jacqui watched him continually look around the corner. "What're you hiding from? Did you break something?"

"You could say that," Greg replied, a furtive look about him. "Have you seen Grissom around?"

"He's…" Jacqui paused and her eyes widened. Then she burst out laughing. "Oh you poor little kid. Grissom's gonna kill you when he catches up to you."

Greg glanced out the door again and got ready to move. "Then we'll just have to make sure he doesn't catch up with me."

* * *

"Can I help you?" Gil asked, walking up behind his daughter.

"Ah! Dad!" Katie jumped, moving back. She blushed slightly, not looking into his eyes. "Just comparing some fibers, that's all."

"Seen Greg?"

"Why?"

"Just need to chat with him."

Katie turned around, folding her arms and arching an eyebrow, giving Gil a look that was pure Catherine. "Dad, do I look stupid to you?"

"No, you look frighteningly like your mother."

"Then take a page from her book. Leave Greg alone."

Gil narrowed his eyes. "You really think your mother is going to leave Greg alone?"

Several thoughts ran through Katie's head, and her eyes widened, before she dashed out of the lab.

"Katie!" Gil called after her. "You left your fibers!"

* * *

Catherine stood behind Greg in the locker room, as he was rifling through his locker."Lost something Greg?" 

Greg yelped and turned around, before collapsing back onto his locker. "I thought you were Grissom."

"Well, I'm a different Grissom, but no less frightening."

Greg gulped.

Catherine walked a bit closer to him. "I don't know what you've lost, but it better not be your protection."

Greg tried to disappear into the lockers. "Which sort of protection?"

Catherine leant against the locker next to him, her eyes giving him a pure "Catherine" look. "You know very well what type of protection I'm talking about." She arched an eyebrow. "Don't you, Greg?"

Greg nodded very slowly. "I…uh…thought you were cool with this?"

Catherine narrowed her eyebrows and folded her arms. "Do I look cool with this?"

"No ma'am."

"I didn't think I did." Catherine moved away from the lockers. "Let me tell you something, Greg. If you're scared about Grissom…. he's just a pussy-cat compared to what I can get like if motivated. And I'm very motivated about my daughter."

Catherine went to leave the room, but Greg called out to her.

"Catherine?"

She turned back around, facing him.

"I won't hurt her. I swear to you. I won't hurt her."

A small smile threatened to grace Catherine's lips. "I know."

* * *

"Nice night, huh?" Katie asked, finding Greg in his lab.

He grinned at her. "Yeah, you could say that."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I meant now, Greg. Now that Mom and Dad know?"

"I've already talked with your mom."

Katie paled. "You did?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah. We had a nice talk. Basically, I told her that I would never hurt you, and she subtly gave me some ideas of what she would do to me if I did."

"Really."

"Yeah, I thought all in all it was a very positive experience."

"You're missing several synapses, you know that right?"

Greg grinned. "It's why everyone loves me."

* * *

Catherine went into Grissom's office, sitting on his chair and putting her feet up on his desk. Her eyes closed and her hand rested on her belly, both she and the baby grateful for a few moment's quiet.

"I can't find the little rodent."

Catherine's eyes opened again, finding her husband standing in front of her.

"I presume by the rodent that you mean Greg?"

Gil sent her a look.

"Honey, it's not polite to call your daughter's boyfriend a rodent."

"I feel that in this situation I'm allowed."

Catherine sighed. "Gil, I talked to Greg. He's being good."

Gil's eyes almost popped out of his head. "You've seen him?"

"Yeah, earlier in the locker room."

"And you didn't tell me?"

Catherine smirked. "What did you want me to do? Send an announcement over the speaker?"

"That would have been a start."

Catherine crooked a finger at him, urging him over by her. He came over and she got up, sitting him in the chair and then settling herself on his lap.

"You're being irrational."

Gil opened his mouth to protest, and Catherine gently placed a finger on his lips.

"Just hear me out. Katie's eighteen years old. She's allowed to make her own decisions. One day, god forbid, Lindsey's going to be in the same situation. And one day, this baby is too." She took his hand and placed it on her abdomen. "I wish that things had been different and that Katie had grown up with us, but she didn't, and I will regret that until the day I die. But Gil, she's not a baby. Sometimes I wish she was, but she's not. We've got to let her make her own decisions, okay?"

Gil took a deep breath. "Okay. But I don't have to like it."

Catherine grinned and pressed a kiss to her lips. "That's my stubborn, overprotective and sexy entomologist."

Gil grinned back at her. "I do what I can."

Catherine wrapped her arms around his neck, urging his lips to hers for a deep kiss. She moaned and straddled his waist, pressing her body against his. "The case is closed, you know," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his neck.

"But paperwork…"

"Do we have to do it tonight?" She pulled back and pouted at him.

"Not at all," he replied, their lips meeting again.

* * *

"Baby is looking fine, Cath," Dr Grad assured her.

Catherine and Grissom shared identical grins.

"So…want to hear the baby's heartbeat?"

"Do you need to ask?" an excited Gil replied.

Diane chuckled and, after applying some gel to Catherine's abdomen, she started to move the monitor around. Almost instantly, a strong and healthy heartbeat filled the room.

"There's your baby."

Catherine's eyes widened. Although she'd heard Lindsey's and Katie's heartbeat, this was once again, different. She turned to face Gil, who had tears in his eyes.

"Hey, don't cry, bugman," she said, fighting back her own emotions. "You'll get me started."

He smiled at her and then pressed a deep kiss to her lips. "I love you."

She smiled back at him, her hand caressing his cheek. "I love you back."

* * *

Lindsey and Katie watched as Catherine put the sonogram picture on the fridge.

"Which is the head?" Lindsey asked.

Gil pointed to it.

"Huh. I thought that was its butt."

"I thought you did science in school?" Katie asked her.

Lindsey shrugs. "Still looks like a butt if you ask my opinion."

Katie tried not to laugh. "Do we know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

Catherine shook her head. "It appears the baby is hiding that fact from us."

"Which is good, because I don't want to know yet," Gil said. "I want it to be a surprise."

Lindsey scrutinised the picture. "It's cute." Before she left the room, she grinned. "Still looks like a butt."

* * *

Katie watched with curiosity as Sam Braun came on TV, talking about the updates to the Rampart. She could see a slight family resemblance, but nothing that screamed Catherine was Sam Braun's daughter.

"What are you watching?" Gil asked, coming into the room. He glanced at the TV. "What's he done now?"

She looked up. "Nothing. He's updating the Rampart. I was just looking at him."

"Has your mom told you anything about him?"

"Well, I kind of got the impression from her reaction to my reason for leaving that they weren't bosom buddies."

"Good call," Gil replied, sitting down next to her. "There's a lot of reasons your mom and he don't get along. But I'll leave it to her to talk with you about. You should ask her if you're interested."

* * *

"You want to do what?"

"I want to go talk to Sam Braun."

Greg glanced at Katie, concern crossing his face. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"You know that your mom and Sam Braun don't exactly get on, right?"

Katie nodded. "Which is precisely why I want to go see him. I want to know why."

"Why they don't get on?"

"Yeah."

"Well that's easy. He murdered some guys."

Katie threw him a look. "You mean, there's been no other trouble between them?"

"I'm sorry, does there NEED to be anymore than that?"

Katie just looked at him.

"Okay, so there was some stuff about money as well. And about him not telling her that he was her dad."

"That's why I think I should go talk to him. Surely there's got to be some way to reconcile."

"Trust me, there's not."

"Greg…please. I just think I should do this for her."

"I REALLY don't think this is a good idea. Catherine would hit the roof. And Grissom doesn't exactly have fond feelings for the guy."

"Why don't you come with me?"

Greg blinked. "Huh?"

"You can keep tabs on me. And Sam."

Greg took a deep breath. "Your parents are going to kill me for this."

"Oh please. You thought they were going to kill you because we were sleeping together, and they didn't."

"Give them time."

* * *

Gil watched Catherine pace up and down the bedroom.

"Cath? Are you alright?"

"Our children are insane."

Gil looked at her, confused. "Did I miss something?"

"Lindsey thinks our child's head looks like a butt."

"Well, to some maybe it does. But take heart that the baby isn't fully formed yet," Gil replied.

"And our daughter is sleeping with Greg Sanders."

"I thought we were okay with that?"

"Well…maybe we aren't." Catherine sighed. "I don't know. But…I like Greg. But Katie's my daughter. I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing by letting her see an older man."

"He's only older by…what…seven years?" Gil made a face as he counted it up. "That's old."

Catherine arched an eyebrow. "What does that make us? Ancient?"

Gil held out his arms to her. "You could never be ancient."

Catherine returned to the bed and settled against him. "I want to do what's right for her, Gil."

"I was thinking, this afternoon, about Katie. And Greg."

"And?"

"I think they're going to be okay."

Catherine's eyes widened and she turned to look at him. "That's certainly a change around from today."

"He saved her life."

Catherine smiled and snuggled back against her husband. "He did."

"And I can't imagine life without her."

"Me either."

"And he seems to make her happy."

"He does." Catherine smirked and closed her eyes. "Kind of like you and me, huh?"

"Are you comparing me to Greg Sanders?"

"You have better shirts."

"That's comforting."

"I knew you'd think so."

Gil's hand rested on her abdomen. "We're going to do this right, this time, Cath."

"I know," she whispered, her hand covering his.

* * *

"I'm going to go on record as saying this is a BAD idea," Greg muttered, as he and Katie walked into the Rampart.

"So noted," Katie replied.

Greg grasped her arm and turned her to face him. "Katie. Think about what you're doing here."

"I'm going to visit my grandfather."

"Right. The grandfather who is a murderer and who your mother hasn't spoken to for God knows how long!"

"It doesn't make him any less a relative," Katie reminded him. "Besides, you didn't HAVE to come."

Greg took her hand. "Yeah, I did."

Sam Braun looked up as the two people were admitted to his office. "Kathryn?"

"Katie," the girl said, holding out her hand to shake his proffered one. "This is Greg Sanders."

Greg shook the man's hand stiffly.

"Please, sit down," he said, gesturing to the seats. "Can I get you anything? Drinks? Food?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Katie replied.

Greg shook his head to the offer.

Sam sat down across from them. "You probably hear this all the time, Katie, but you look so much like your mother."

"Thank you," Katie replied. "I'm lucky."

"I was wondering when I'd get to finally meet you," Sam said. "After our last less than comfortable meeting, I was worried I wouldn't get a chance to know you."

"My parents don't know I'm here," Katie stated bluntly.

"Ah." Sam leant back in his chair. "So, what can I do for you?"

"You can explain to me why you bribed my mother."

Greg's eyebrows shot up. _Don't go there. Please don't go there_.

Sam folded his arms. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

Katie arched an eyebrow. "Oh please. I've read about you. I read about you before I came to Vegas. Nothing comes without strings."

Sam looked almost amused. "I'm intrigued. It's almost as if you researched me."

"Are you surprised?" Katie folded her arms in a pose that looked like something Catherine would do. "Considering your reputation and all."

"Really? My reputation got all the way out to your hometown?"

"While I understand that compared to Vegas it might be small, my hometown is considered a city." She watched him. "Or at least last time I checked. Or have you bought the entire town?"

"You're as sassy as your mother."

"I try."

Greg tried not to laugh. Despite his better judgement, he was actually enjoying this.

"Your mother and I have our differences."

"That's how you explain it?"

"Explain what?"

"The relationship, or lack thereof between you and my mother."

"That was her choice, not mine."

"And you were surprised by her choice? Look at what you did to her!"

"What, precisely, did I do to her?"

"You knew."

"Knew what?"

"You knew that she was your daughter."

"What makes you think that?"

Katie arched an eyebrow. "You really expect me to believe that you didn't know that she was your daughter until you told her?"

"It was always a possibility."

"A possibility you should have explored?"

Sam smiled thinly. "You mean like your parents explored the possibility of keeping you?"

Greg froze and glanced at Katie. He saw the pain in her eyes.

"We should get going," Greg decided. "Mr. Braun, thank you for taking the time to see us." He took Katie's arm. "Let's go."

Katie stood up, a little unsteadily. She glared at Sam Braun. "No wonder mom doesn't want anything to do with you. You're a bastard, Sam Braun."

* * *

Greg held tight and rocked Katie as she sobbed in his arms. "Shhh. I've got you. It's going to be alright."

There was no reply, as she clung to him, letting all her emotions pour out.

"I'll make it okay. I promise," Greg told her.

TBC  



	27. 27

Part 27 

Catherine burst out laughing as Gil attempted to put the changing table together.

"It's not funny," Gil replied, as the table fell apart. Again.

Catherine put her hand over her mouth, trying to force the giggles down. "Sorry."

"These instructions look peculiar."

She grabbed the instructions.

"Catherine!"

"Oh please, you're not making any progress. By the time you finish making this changing table, the baby will be too old to use it." She held the piece of paper up. "This side is in Swedish, dear."

Gil adjusted his glasses. "Ah."

Catherine arched an eyebrow. "Ah?" She smirked and handed him his screwdriver. "Here you go. Try again."

"You should have kept Lindsey's."

Catherine smiled softly. "I didn't think I'd be marrying you and having another baby with you back then."

Gil put the screwdriver down and walked over to her, his hand resting on her swollen abdomen. "But it's a good thing, right?"

Catherine leant in, kissing him deeply. "A very good thing."

A soft knock came at the door. "Ah, sorry for interrupting."

Catherine looked up. "Greg?"

"Greg Sanders popping up in my house is going to take some getting used to," Gil murmured.

Catherine saw the look on his face. "Greg. What's going on?"

"Katie and I went somewhere today."

Gil took a menacing step towards him. "Is she hurt?"

"Not physically."

Gil's eyes widened. "Did you break up with her?"

"Hell no!" Greg cried. "Jesus, Grissom. I'm in love with your daughter. I'm not going to break up with her. She wanted to go and see Sam Braun."

Catherine went pale. "Sam?"

Greg nodded. "I thought I should go with her. I didn't want her going alone."

"Did Sam see her?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah."

"And?"

Greg took a deep breath. "It was all going fine. Except she started going all…Catherine-like." He glanced at Catherine. "No offence. She's gorgeous when she's Catherine-like. But then she asked Sam why he didn't explore the possibility that you were his daughter if he knew there was a possibility."

"And what did Sam say?" Gil asked, sitting Catherine down.

"He suggested it was kind of like you and Catherine exploring the possibility that you could keep her."

"Oh god," Catherine said, putting her head in her hands.

"Where is she?" Gil asked.

"I took her to my place for a while. She just wanted to cry so I just held her. Then I brought her back here. She just went into her room." He fidgeted. "I thought you should know what happened."

Catherine looked up, stern resolution on her face. "Thanks, Greg. I appreciate it." She stood up. "I'll go see her."

"I'm sorry," Greg said.

Catherine squeezed his shoulder as she went past. "Not your fault."

* * *

Catherine opened the room to her eldest daughter's room. Katie lay on the bed, face in the pillows. Catherine could tell by her body that she was crying.

"I wanted you."

Katie stirred and looked around. "Mom…"

"When I found out I was pregnant…I was so excited. The fact that Gil and I had made a baby together…" She walked over and sat beside her on the bed. "I started having dreams about this little family. Gil and I, and a beautiful baby. White picket fence, a dog…the whole works."

"But?"

"But then reality gave me a kick in the teeth. Legally, I was still married. I was still hooked on coke. Gil and I hadn't spoken a word about that night since it happened." Catherine took a deep breath. "At first I thought the best thing would be for me and the baby to disappear. Leave everything behind in Vegas. And I was going to. That's when I bought the ticket. I left and spent five months in Miami."

Katie had turned over and was now looking at her mother. "And what happened during those five months?"

"I went to the doctor, who gave me the name of a counsellor the minute she found out I was just getting off coke. The counsellor started talking about what I had to do, what was in the best interests of the child." She sighed.  
"And I listened."

"And that's when you decided to give me up?"

Catherine shook her head. "No. I decided when I was at the clinic. A couple had just come out and they were in tears. Their child had died of SIDS. The counsellor then gave me a pamphlet about adoption." She sighed. "I was young and impressionable. And terrified." She rested a hand on her daughter's cheek. "The minute I saw you…when I saw how beautiful you were. How perfect. How much you were a mix of Gil and I." A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it furiously away. "God, I wanted to keep you. I was almost ready to take you out of that hospital and bring you back to Vegas. Show you to Gil and then we'd be a family."

"But you didn't." There was no trace of bitterness to the statement. Just regret.

"No, I didn't. The nurse came and said that your parents were waiting to meet you. And I handed you over." Catherine wiped another tear away. "And then I hopped a plane back to Vegas."

"You should have kept me."

Catherine's eyes jerked down to her daughters.

"Katie…"

"You should have kept me!" The girl burst into tears, falling back against the bed.

Catherine curled up next to her daughter, holding her in her arms. "I know. I know I should've."

* * *

Gil walked down to Katie's room, pausing outside. He opened the door slightly, peering in. He could hear Catherine soothing their daughter, murmuring soft words of reassurance and stroking her hair.

Catherine looked up and caught his eye. He felt pain slice through him as he saw the tears on her face.

"I've got her," she mouthed.

Gil nodded and closed the door behind him. He sank down to the floor, resting against the door.

* * *

Catherine opened the door to Katie's room. Katie had cried herself to sleep. She almost ran over her husband. "Gil!"

Gil jerked himself awake and stood up. "What's going on?"

"Have you been sitting here all night?"

"I was worried about you. And Katie."

She leant up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "I love you."

Gil took her in his arms, holding her tight. "I love you too."

"I should've kept her."

Gil gently walked her into their bedroom, and sat her down on the bed. He then sat down beside her. "I thought we had talked about this."

"We did. Obviously, Katie didn't deal with it as well as I thought." Catherine rubbed her tired eyes. "Not that I blame her."

"Did Sam Braun do this?"

"No, Gil! I did this!" Catherine put her hand to her chest. "Me! I ruined our daughter's life! Just like I ruined yours!"

Gil's hands gripped her wrists. "No! No, Catherine. No. You made our lives better. Catherine, just by giving half your DNA to Katie you made her life better." He forced her to look at him. "You made my life better. You taught me how to live. How to love."

She looked up at him. "Gil…"

"Please believe me," he whispered. "Out of everything in our lives that I've asked you for, this is what I want the most. Believe me."

Catherine leant up and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Okay."

Gil cupped her face and deepened the kiss, his lips peppering kisses to her face. "I love you," he kept repeating, over and over. "I love you so much."

* * *

"What?" Sam Braun barked into the intercom.

"A Mrs. Grissom is here to see you."

Sam arched an eyebrow. An interesting turn of events indeed. "Send her in."

Catherine came into the room. "We need to talk."

"Certainly. Have a seat." Sam stood up and joined her at the couches. "It's certainly been a week of visits from the Grissom family."

Catherine glared at him. "You had no right to say what you did to my daughter."

"And she had a right to come in here and blast me about ancient history?"

"She's eighteen years old, Sam! She got tossed into a family she's not used to!"

"And who's fault is that?"

Catherine nodded. "You're right. It's mine. But if you want to start attacking someone about her being adopted, attack me. She's just a child and she doesn't deserve that."

"Catherine, she came to me. If she hadn't wanted a fight, she shouldn't have arrived."

"Do you even distinguish between people? Or are they all just blurry images to you?"

"If you're referring to your mother…"

"Discussing that disaster would take more time than I'm willing to give you."

"It wasn't too much of a disaster. It brought you into the world."

"Let's remember that all you did was sleep with my mother. You're not my father, nor are you grandfather to any of my children."

"You've made that abundantly clear. And yet you still cashed my check."

"That's right, Sam. Let's bring that back up again, because nothing you do comes without strings."

"I haven't asked for anything from you, Catherine."

"You have a funny way of getting things without asking."

"If you're referring to the check I gave you…"

"Don't try and deny that that came with strings," Catherine growled.

Sam leant back in his chair and folded his arms. "I haven't pulled them yet."

Catherine smiled thinly. "I knew there were some there."

"Why are you here, Catherine? Is it just to insult and accuse me of things I haven't even done?"

"You've done plenty."

"What in our past are we referring to now?"

"Hard to choose, isn't it?"

"I loved your mother."

Catherine glared at him. "Don't you dare say that. You have no right to say that."

"You loved Dr. Grissom from afar for years. What makes you think that's not what happened with your mother?"

"If you had loved her, you would have stayed with her. Just as Gil and I are together."

"If we're working by your logic, that means you should have stayed with Gil when you slept with him."

Catherine said nothing for a moment, but Sam's words had hit her hard. "Just stay away from my family."

Sam stood up. "Catherine…"

"What?"

He handed over a file.

Catherine arched an eyebrow. "What is this?"

"It's a file on the man I was dealing with. I believe him to be the same man that directed the bombing."

Catherine opened the file, glanced at it momentarily and then looked up at him. "Why are you giving me this?"

"You work with people who can legally do something about it."

Catherine folded her arms. "When has that ever stopped you before?"

"Because this means something to you. To your family." He shrugged. "Do whatever you want with it."

"Why this sudden change of heart?"

"Lots of things. But they're not important."

A voice came over the intercom. "Mr. Braun? Your 2 o'clock is here."

Catherine picked up the file. "I better go."

"Catherine?"

She turned to face him. "Yes?"

"Do you think things could ever go back…to how they were?"

Catherine said nothing for a moment. "I…I don't know Sam." With that, she turned around and left the room.

* * *

Gil glanced at the file. "You're going to give this to Brass?"

Catherine sank down into the chair opposite him. "I don't know what to do."

He reached over, taking her hand. "You should have let me come with you."

Catherine smiled slight and kissed his hand. "I was okay. I'll be okay."

Gil watched her carefully for a moment before sitting back. "I'll show this to Brass." He smiled at her. "I love you, you know?"

She grinned at him. "I love you too." Leaning back on the chair, she looked over at him. "Where are the kids?"

"Lindsey's at Nancy's. Katie's in the lab somewhere." He wrinkled his nose. "Probably with Greg."

Catherine chuckled. "Our girl is growing up."

Gil hmphed. He glanced over at her belly. "At least you still have a long way to go. Right little one?"

Catherine got up, stretching her back. "You look tired."

"So do you."

"Then why are we still here?"

"Paperwork."

"Are people going to die if the paperwork isn't completed?"

"Ecklie might…" Gil paused and a smile lit up his face. "Hey! Let's go home!"


	28. 28

Part 28 

Greg ran into Gil's office the next night. "I heard you have a suspect."

Gil took his glasses of, looking up at Greg. "What are you talking about?"

"The guy who tried to kill Katie."

"First of all, we know who actually made the bomb. He's under arrest and awaiting trial. Secondly, he said that Katie wasn't the target, it was actually Catherine. And thirdly…Brass is out looking for him."

"Who is he? Where is he? How did you find him?"

Gil watched the young lab tech for a moment. "Greg. Why are you so invested in this?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Whoever this bastard is, he almost killed Katie!" Greg looked accursedly at his boss. "Your daughter! He wanted to kill your wife! How can you be so calm about this?"

"I'm not calm, Greg. Inside, I want to kill this man with my bare hands. But if I did, where would we be? Catherine would be alone, the kids wouldn't have a father, and nothing would be accomplished." He leaned over the desk, watching Greg. "I know that you care about my daughter a great deal, and I'm starting to respect and understand that. But we're handling this the only way we can."

Greg sighed. "It's…"

"Frustrating, yes."

"How do you handle it?"

"I go home. I hug my wife and my kids and think how lucky I am that I still have them, and how happy I will be when this man is behind bars."

Greg nodded. "I…uh…better get back to the lab."

Gil nodded and put his glasses back on, going back to his forms. Greg paused at the doorway, and turned around.

"Grissom?"

He looked up. "Yes, Greg?"

"Thank you."

Gil smiled slightly. "You're welcome, Greg."

* * *

Warrick, Nick, Sara and Greg stood with Gil as they watched Lucas Foord being brought in by Brass and a couple of uniforms.

"You know you can't sit in on this, right Griss?" Warrick murmured.

"I know," Gil replied.

"Neither can you, Greg," Sara reminded the lab tech.

"Yeah, I know."

"You can watch though," Nick said, pointing to the room.

Gil had already entered into the small room off the interrogation one. He glanced in at the man who had tried to kill his wife, and almost killed his daughter. He may not have built the bomb…but he was still responsible.

"Mind if I stay here too?" Greg asked, lingering in the doorway.

"As long as you don't have any pressing work."

"I'm good."

The two men watched in silence as Warrick and Nick entered the room. Brass stood in the corner, his eyes hard.

"So, you and Sam Braun don't get on well," Brass said, glancing at the man.

"Mr Foord is…," the lawyer began.

"Innocent, yeah we hear that a lot in this room."

Gil watched the interview progress, until his beeper sounded. He picked it up.

"Oh god."

Greg looked at him. "What?"

"Oh my god."

"What?!"

Gil got out his cell phone. "I'm having a baby! I mean, Catherine's having a baby! I have to go." He raced to the door. "I want this man behind bars, Greg!"

* * *

Gil raced into the hospital room, finding Catherine lying on the bed, lights dimmed.

"Cath?"

She looked up at him and smiled softly. "Hey."

"Are you okay? Shouldn't there, you know, be people? And machines? And a doctor?"

"I'm fine," she murmured, patting the bed beside her.

Gil walked over and sat down. "The message said the baby was coming."

Catherine nodded. "I felt a couple of contractions earlier, and I had a backache. The doctor wanted me to call her as soon as I felt contractions, and I did."

Gil looked around. "So, I missed it?"

"What?" She smiled and took his hand. "No." She kissed his hand as he cupped her face. "No, you didn't miss it. It just might take a while, that's all."

"But you're okay? And everything's doing okay? I mean, no complications?"

Catherine shook her head, holding tight to his hand. "No. I'm doing fine. The baby's doing fine." She pointed to a machine next to her. "See?"

Gil's other hand reached out, touching the monitor. "That's the baby?"

"That's our baby."

Gil watched the continuous beep. "You're not doing a lot in there, are you?"

"I might be able to get a little sleep before junior arrives," Catherine murmured.

Gil leant over and kissed her soundly. "I'll be right here, Cath. I promise."

* * *

Katie opened the door quietly to the room an hour later. "Hey," she whispered to her father.

Gil woke up, from where he had been dozing in the chair next to Catherine's bed. "Hi."

Katie glanced at her sleeping mother. "How's everything going?"

"She's just dozing for a while," Gil said, getting up. "Is Lindsey with you?"

Katie shook her head. "I persuaded her that she needed to stay and babysit Greg for me."

"Greg…did Greg say what happened at CSI?"

Katie nodded. "Lucas Foord has been formally charged with conspiracy, attempted murder, murder and some other minor things."

Gil smiled broadly and hugged his daughter. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad."

"This could…take a while, you know? Do you want to go home and get some sleep? I'll call you as soon as the baby starts coming."

Katie nodded. "Yeah. Greg is probably crying for mercy. Just tell mom that I love her, and that I'm thinking of her?"

Gil nodded and hugged his daughter again. "I'll see you soon."

* * *

"Gil?"

Gil jerked awake, glancing over at his wife. "Huh? What? Is it coming?"

Catherine's face was contorted in pain. "I think you need to call the doctor now."

Gil immediately pressed the button and was beside her in an instant. "I'm here, Cath." He rubbed her back as she breathed through the contraction.

"Catherine?" Dr Grad came in. "Hi, Gil."

"Hi," Gil replied, holding onto Catherine's hand.

"Let's take a look here." Diane looked at the stats.

"I forgot how much this hurts," Catherine murmured, lying back against the bed.

Gil was distressed. He didn't like seeing her in pain. "I'm sorry, Cath."

She looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Just stay with me, okay? I don't want to do this alone again."

Gil bent down and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay, Catherine. You're almost ready for this baby. We're going to start getting everything ready now." Diane smiled at her. "Not long now."

"Gil…" Catherine grabbed his hand, as another contraction came.

"I've got you," he murmured, letting her squeeze his hand. He didn't really need it anyway…did he?

* * *

"How long does it take a baby to get here?" Lindsey asked Greg, as they sat in the waiting room.

"Five minutes less than the last time you asked me," Greg told her, with a grin.

Lindsey rolled her eyes.

"It could be a while, Linds," Katie told her. "I can get Nancy to come pick you up if you want."

"Nope. I'm staying put until this kid arrives!"

* * *

"Better?" Gil asked, after the nurse had given Cath some pain relief.

She nodded. "Mhm."

He stroked her forehead, sitting beside her. "You're doing so great, Catherine."

"Hey, Catherine," Diane said, coming back into the room. "How are you doing?"

Catherine sent her a look. Diane chuckled.

"Yeah, I figured as much. And how are you doing, Gil?"

Gil looked over. "Me? I'm fine. Catherine's the one having the baby."

Diane nodded. "I know. But you look really worried."

"I just don't like her being in so much pain," Gil murmured, holding her hand. "I wish I could make it go away for you," he whispered to Catherine.

"The drugs will do most of that," Diane promised him.

Catherine kissed Gil gently. "I love you. I'm so glad you're here."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Gil told her. "Our baby is coming, Catherine."

She smiled tiredly at him. "I know. It's wonderful." Her face changed and Gil helped her through another contraction.

Diane looked through the latest sheet. "100 effaced. 10 centimeters dilated." She looked over at the couple. "I think we're ready to deliver a baby."

* * *

"Does having a baby hurt?" Lindsey asked Greg.

He nodded solemnly. "A lot. That's why the women have them, and the guys hold their hands."

"Wimp," Katie whispered in his ear.

"Not true. If the woman squeezes hard enough, the guy gets broken bones in his hand."

"And the woman squeezed a watermelon out between her legs."

Lindsey went pale.

* * *

"Push, Catherine," Diane said again.

Catherine cried out in pain and Gil sat behind her, supporting her in his arms.

"You're doing great, Catherine. Really well," Diane promised her. "I can see the head now."

Gil pressed a kiss to the top of Catherine's head. She leant against him gratefully.

"Here we go again, Cath," Diane murmured, watching as her friend tensed up. "Push now."

Catherine pushed again, Gil helping her through it.

"Great! Great oh the heads out and what a beautiful baby."

"You're doing so well, Cath," Gil murmured, kissing her again. "The head's out. Not much longer now."

"Tired," Catherine murmured, collapsing again Gil.

"I know, sweetheart, I know," he whispered. "You've almost done. We've almost got our baby."

"We want to try and get the shoulders out next, Catherine," Diane told her. "Almost there."

Catherine gripped Gil's hand, squeezing tightly. He supported her as she pushed on Diane's command again.

"Good…so great…" Diane said. "One more and we'll have a beautiful little baby, guys."

"You can do this, Cath," Gil told her. "I know you can."

He supported her as she pushed again, a powerful contraction overwhelming her. She fell back into Gil's arms as a loud, indignant scream filled the air.

"It's a boy!" Diane cried out, holding up the little baby. "You have a baby boy."

* * *

Gil watched, a look of wonderment on his face as Catherine breastfed their baby. "I'm so proud of you," he murmured.

Catherine looked up at him, a tired but happy smile on her face. "You helped."

Gil sat down next to her on the bed, his hand gently stroking the little boy's head, before he leant over and kissed Catherine deeply on the lips. "We have a son."

"He's perfect," Catherine whispered. "And you were there. With me."

They kissed again, Gil's hand touching the little boy again.

"He's so tiny. Tiny and perfect."

Katie peered around the doorway. "Can we come in?"

Catherine looked up and smiled. "Hi."

Katie came in, followed by Lindsey, who was leading Greg. His hands were covering his eyes.

"Greg…what are you doing?" Gil asked him.

"I figured you'd kill me for coming in here, but Katie wanted me to come, so my eyes are closed, just in case there's anything you don't want me to see."

Catherine glared at Gil, as did Katie.

Gil sighed. "Open your eyes, Greg."

Greg did. "Thank you, sir." He looked at Catherine. "Hi, Catherine."

She smiled." Hi, Greg."

"Lindsey, Katie," Gil announced. "Meet your little brother, Nathan James."

"His head doesn't look like a butt!" Lindsey announced gleefully.

Katie rolled her eyes and turned to her mother. "He's beautiful." She sat on the side of the bed, next to her mother. "You did great, Mom."

Catherine looked up at her daughter. "I did great. Three times."

Katie grinned and kissed the top of Nathan's head. "Hi, little guy. You've come into a great family."

Gil got out of the plastic chair, glancing awkwardly at Greg. "Uh, Greg. Why don't you sit down?"

Greg's eyes widened. "Sir?"

"SIT, Greg," Katie growled.

"Yes ma'am."

Catherine, realising that this was Gil's way of grumpily accepting Greg into the family, smiled. She looked down at her son and stroked his head.

Gil walked over to Katie, hugging her tight. "Thank you."

Katie arched an eyebrow. "What for?"

"For coming back into our lives." He shrugged. "You did most of this."

"I like to think that I didn't help with making him," Katie murmured, pointing at Nathan.

Gil chuckled. "Catherine…help?"

"What your father is trying to explain in his own way, is that you coming back, helped us along a little bit," Catherine murmured.

"Glad to do my part," Katie replied. She headed over to Greg, looking down at him. "Hey."

"I think your dad just accepted me into the family," he whispered.

Katie chuckled, allowing him to sit her in his lap. "Shh. Don't tell him that, or he'll kick you right back out again."  
Greg grinned. "I'll be good."

Gil sat down on the bed next to Catherine. "This is so amazing."

"The fact that we have our daughter back, that we're married and that we have a beautiful baby boy?" Catherine smiled, leaning against him. "Yeah, it's pretty amazing."

Nathan started to fuss, and Gil held out his arms, Catherine gently handing their son over.

The little boy quieted in his father's arms, a hand reaching out and bopping Gil on the nose.

"I think he likes me," Gil said, a grin on his face.

FINIS


End file.
